For nurses, the job is a work of heart

By Jon Moffett

Nurses showed their compassion by raising money and collecting items for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

YOUNGSTOWN — It takes more than a sharp mind and steady hand to be a nurse.

It takes heart.

“A nurse is someone who cares enough to do whatever it takes to make sure the patient is safe,” said Linda Warino, executive director of the Ohio Nurses Association District 3. “You need to have that kind of dedication and caring.”

Warino said nurses are known for putting the needs of patients first. In fact, members of the ONA marked the recent Nurses Week by helping others.

The nurses raised $1,225 and a truckload of food and also donated many hours of service during a fundraiser for the Second Harvest Food Bank.

“We figured the spotlight was on us, so we decided to showcase a worthy cause,” she said. “We use that spotlight ... to try and make people aware of something they can do to help.”

As Nurses Week closed, nurses continued to prove their compassion Thursday.

The Humility of Mary Health Partners sponsored a Woman’s Heart Day at the Covelli Centre, formerly the Chevrolet Centre. The event offered free health screenings and booths that offered massages, aerobic dance lessons, nutritional information and general health education.

“What we try to do is have a day when women will spend time on themselves instead of taking care of everybody else,” said Charlene Pastore, a medical technician with the HMP and co-chairwoman of the event. “We usually make sure our kids, husbands and parents all get to the doctor, but we don’t always do that sort of thing for us. So the screening is to make us all a little more conscious about our health.”

Pastore said the event offered screenings including blood pressure, cholesterol levels and bone density. About 175 volunteers helped with the event.

Helen Reeder, 65, of Green Township, attending her second Woman’s Heart Day, said the event is a great asset to the community.

“This area, being economically depressed, and with health-care costs being so high, people need to take advantage of this,” she said. “It’s so beneficial because it’s preventive medicine. It teaches you to educate yourself and be accountable for your own health.”

A retired nurse and current yoga instructor, Reeder said more people should attend such programs.

“I believe in patient education, and I think events like these are wonderful services to the community,” she said.

Educating the public on health is another way to expand the nursing field. MaryAnn Cashier has been a nurse for 36 years and hopes the next generation of nurses is ready for the challenge.

“We always have job openings at [St. Elizabeth Health Center],” she said. “They may not always be a full-time job, but we continually have a need for nursing. And as we expand our services, we’re going to need nurses to take those places. And although nurses tend to stick around for a while, people still need to be replaced eventually.”

While Cashier encourages people to be nurses, she warned that the job is not for the half-hearted.

“One of my issues is that I seem to see a lot of people coming into nursing because of the economic factor, because it’s a good job and makes good money. But my feeling is, don’t go into nursing if you don’t really have the heart.

“If it’s not something you really want to do and are really truly devoted to, don’t do it. If it’s about the money, do something else.”

jmoffett@vindy.com