Nightingale Tour July 18

It took Florence Nightingale a little more than two weeks to travel from England to Constantinople (Istanbul) when she made her voyage to care for soldiers from the war in the Crimea in 1854. It took me just 3 & 1/2 hours by air to arrive in the same place - though what a difference in the place where she and I landed. When she arrived, there was little on the Asian side of the Bosphorous River other than the barracks, which had been turned into a hospital where she would work the better part of two years. There was also a cemetery where soldiers were buried after succumbing to their war wounds or disease. Now there’s a bustling metropolis, and the streets are clogged with traffic and people. There is a constant cacophony of cars, busses, horns, voices over loudspeakers, and screeching tires. Nevertheless, tomorrow I will visit the same barracks where Miss Nightingale made changes in the delivery of care and changed the face of nursing and patient care forever. I know I will feel her presence as I see where she once walked and worked, and I will take a moment to silently honor her work - it is such a privilege to be following in some of those same steps of long ago.

Judee
Judith. G. Berg, RN, MS, FACHE
Vice President, Professional Services
Gannett Healthcare Group