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Wounded warrior to speak at VA Nurses Week celebrations
May 6, 2011
In honor of America’s nurses, Veterans and the public are invited to hear SSG (Ret.) Shilo Harris, a wounded warrior, and his wife Kathreyn provide the keynote address for the National Nurses Week celebrations at the Central Texas Veterans Health Care System (CTVHCS) May 10 in Temple and May 11 in Waco (times and locations listed below).
SSG (Ret.) Harris will tell about his recovery from the severe injuries he received from an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion in Iraqi and how competent and caring nursing personnel assisted him on his road to recovery. Harris’ story is one of true determination from being in a coma and incapable of caring for himself to once again becoming independent and active. The explosion killed three fellow Soldiers and severely wounded Harris and another Soldier.
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is the nation’s largest single employer of nurses known for their dedication to saving lives and maintaining the health of millions of individuals. This year’s Nurses Week theme is “Nurses: Trusted to Care” and VA health care facilities throughout the country will pay tribute to their 83,000 nurses. Annually, National Nurses Week begins on May 6, marked as Nurse Recognition Day, and ends on May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale, founder of nursing as a modern profession.
“Our nurses are more than caregivers, they are the compassionate backbone of VA’s world-class health care system,” said Thomas C. Smith, director for CTVHCS. “Nurses are a diverse, professional group who work to improve health care from bedside nursing to hospital administration. I applaud each one of our nurses for the care and compassion they provide to the Veterans we serve.”
Nurses Week celebrations location and times:
Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Wednesday, May 11, 2011
10:30 a.m. 1 p.m.
Amphitheater Stracke Auditorium
Teague Tower (Building 163) Building 6
Olin E. Teague Veterans’ Center Waco VA Medical Center
1901 Veterans Memorial Drive 4800 Memorial Drive
Temple, Texas Waco, Texas
SSG Harris bio: http://www.whisperingwater.com/special/SSG-Shilo-A-Harris-bio.pdf
Media wishing to attend should contact Deborah Meyer at (254) 534-0304.
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