Doctors and nurses are often the first professions we come to know once we enter this world. They’re among the few people our mothers trust to care for us, and for some infants, their helping hands are the difference between life and death. It’s not surprising that in 2019 nurses were voted as the most trusted profession, again, by Forbes. The healthcare professionals who comprise the U.S. healthcare system have been essential to our well-being from the moment we opened our eyes. Yet, in 2020, they contributed even more value. 

Huge sacrifices made in 2020

This year, medical personnel have not only been tackling their usual daily challenges; they have also been the ones holding hands and holding the phone for our loved ones when COVID-19 took away visiting privileges. In families with multiple healthcare professionals, sometimes children had to be sent to grandparents for months, and new mothers employed in hospitals had to quarantine from their young infants. In rural America, a population already hard-pressed to maintain access to quality healthcare, a new challenge arose. Healthcare staff bore the emotional burden of treating their small-town neighbors with whom they have personal connections — the cashier from the corner store, a friend from church and the county librarian. 

At times, there wasn’t enough personal protective equipment for healthcare providers to protect themselves, even by prior standards, much less by those of a pandemic. Hospitals have had to prepare for the eventuality of their medical providers falling ill in the course of their work. As cases continued to rise, the people we trust to care for us needed someone to care for them. Despite their training and best interventions, 1,375 healthcare workers were lost to Coronavirus as of November 16.

We’re in awe of our healthcare workers

With the regular seasonal flu in our midst and a third-wave surge of COVID-19 upon us, we want to take a moment to pause. A moment away from the politics, the injustice, the heartbreak of this year and rest in gratitude. As a healthcare staffing agency, we have been a part of the struggle each time a small hospital or respiratory facility has had urgent staffing needs, and we have been in awe each time one of our providers stepped up to fill a position. Each time someone comes out of retirement or chooses to come off maternity leave early, we are profoundly grateful. 

At TinkBird, we want to express our warm and heartfelt appreciation to our providers and healthcare workers across the country and around the world. We also thank their families for the sacrifices they have made all year long to support these medical professionals. We are grateful for the children facing another six months of their parent working tirelessly, exhausted, and asking them to tend to themselves. We appreciate the grandparents pulling extra babysitting shifts so that these frontline providers can tend to others. 

Doing our part to make 2021 a safer, healthier year for all

As 2020 comes to a close, we ask what else we can do for these amazing men and women whose entire year has been about keeping us safe. Beyond a “thank you,” we can all do our part to help keep others safe and reduce the spread of COVID-19. You’ve heard it before, but it can never be emphasized enough: Wear your mask in public, wash your hands frequently and thoroughly, and social distance to help your community, our country as a whole, overcome the pandemic and bring our healthcare workers home safely this Holiday Season.