I am often reminded of my dear departed mother, Laura; as we all grew up calling her. Most everyone in Pocatello knew her and called her Laura. She was a registered Nurse and acted as night nursing supervisor at Bannock Memorial Hospital for over 30 years. Imagine raising 5 boys, with a bit of help my my father, who we called Ed, while working full time on the night shift. Laura was a tireless and compassionate service provider. At her retirement party we nearly required crowd control as her grateful patients, co workers, Dr’s, and the community arrived to sing her praises. I heard this week of the Gallup poll that again ranked professions based on honesty and ethical standards. No surprise to me, Nurses topped the list for the 16th consecutive year. Eighty three percent of the respondents gave top marks to the profession. A distant second were military officers with Medical Doctors and Veterinarians third at 68%. My time invested at St. Luke’s is motivated by Laura and I see the same commitment to putting the patients first with our nursing staff and care teams.
I have been enjoying the spring in the Boise foothills. Crane Creek CC has been an Audubon sight for a few years and this year we have collaborated with them to add Mountain Bluebird boxes and more recently nesting boxes for the American kestrel. The kestrel is the smallest and most common falcon in North America. The bluebird was named the State bird of Idaho in 1931 with its primary contender being the Western Tanager. In my research about various raptors I came across a very funny but disturbing story from New Hampshire. A group of fourth graders who were studying raptors were impressed by the Red Tailed Hawk and decided to propose it as the State raptor of the “Live free or die” State. Greeted by an enthusiastic round of applause, the legislators began the debate. Concerns about the need for other state birds or animals were voiced along with a description of the raptor catching and killing its prey with razor sharp beaks and powerful talons. One astute legislator asked if they might next be considering a State “hot dog”. The bill went down in defeat and the children learned much from the wisdom of their elected officials. If you are not offended by strong language you could watch the video from This Week Tonight’s, John Oliver and the Red Tailed Hawk. The creature is now the official raptor of the Oliver show. I walk by a Red Tail Nest each morning and appreciate the care with which they guard the nest and protect it from other predators. Maybe idaho needs a state predator bird.
In our country today it is not clear who you can trust, who has credibility? This week the omnibus tax bill, an unusual bipartisan effort added the name of Cecil Andrus to the Boulder White Clouds in recognition of his lifelong environmental work as well as his statesmanship. Difficult to fathom—one Idaho Senator tried to eliminate that honor at the last minute for apparent personal reasons. Stephen Denny says “trust is built on credibility, and credibility comes from acting in others interests before your own.” I am looking to the Nurses profession to give us remedial training on doing the right thing for the right selfless reasons.