SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb., ― Regional West is proud to celebrate its nurses, first responders, and health system employees during National Nurses Week, EMS (Emergency Medical Services) Week, and Hospital Week in May.

National Nurses Week is celebrated annually beginning May 6 and ending on May 12, which is Florence Nightingale’s birthday. Nightingale is considered the founder of modern nursing and is credited with establishing nursing as an honorable and meaningful profession.

“Regional West has an exceptional team of nurses,” said Mel McNea, MHA, Regional West Health Services interim CEO. “They make impactful contributions to our communities every day. We would like to thank all our nurses for their compassion and hard work.”

Regional West joins hospitals throughout the nation in celebrating National Hospital Week, May 7 through 13. The week honors the entire community of hospitals and healthcare systems for their hard work. Regional West applauds the physicians, providers, and employees who work to protect our region’s health.

“We want to celebrate the exceptional work our Regional West employees do for our patients,” said McNea. “Thank you to the wonderful providers and employees for the dedication to our communities and patients we are proud to serve.”

This year marks the 48th annual National EMS Week. EMS Week has been celebrated since 1974, when President Gerald Ford authorized the week to celebrate EMS practitioners and the life-saving work they provide in our communities on medicine’s “front-line.”

Regional West Emergency Medical Services is an Advanced Life Support ground ambulance service with employees that include both Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT) and Nationally Registered Paramedics (NRP). Additionally, Air Link at Regional West provides critical care and air medical transport to a five-state region, including Nebraska, Wyoming, South Dakota, Kansas, and Colorado. Air Link provides critical care transport on both rotor and fixed-wing ambulatory aircrafts and is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems (CAMTS).

Regional West Health Services in Scottsbluff, Nebraska, is the parent company of Regional West Medical Center, a 188-bed regional referral center and the only Level II Trauma Center in Nebraska west of Kearney. As the region’s only tertiary referral medical center, Regional West offers care that spans more than 32 medical specialties provided by over 28 physician clinics. Regional West provides comprehensive and innovative healthcare services for the people of western Nebraska and the neighboring states of Colorado, South Dakota, and Wyoming.