Greenwich Hospital launched the start of National Nurses Week with the annual “Blessing of the Hands” – a hospital tradition practiced around the world.
This non-denominational, spiritual ritual is a reminder of the importance of human interaction when it comes to healing the body and soul, especially at a time when technology plays such an integral role in the healthcare arena.
For Marie Dalton, RN, a clinical resource nurse in the Emergency Department, the Blessing of the Hands is a reminder that nursing is as much an art as it is a science. “The blessing honors the importance of touch in the caring of others and the spreading of hope and good thoughts to others,” she said.
The day began at the hospital’s chapel with members of the Spiritual Care Department blessing the oils and commissioning a group of nurses to go forward and bless the hands of their colleagues throughout the Greenwich Hospital main campus and offsite locations.
Caption: Greenwich Hospital nurses administer the “Blessing of the Hands” – a hospital tradition around the world – to mark National Nurses Week.