Sarasota Memorial Health Care System is celebrating Nurses Week with a weeklong slate of activities recognizing the care and commitment of its more than 3,000 nurses and 1,000-plus patient care and multi-skilled technologists who support nursing care. National Nurses Week is a time that hospitals, health care professionals and communities recognize the contributions and positive impact of America’s 4 million registered nurses. Each year, the celebration begins on May 6 and ends on May 12, Florence Nightingale's birthday. In addition to unit-based celebrations throughout the week, chaplains will round throughout clinical areas on Tuesday for the popular “Blessing of the Hands” ceremony, a tradition in which chaplains anoint nurses’ hands with oil and bless them as instruments of healing. On Thursday, the health system will host its annual Nurse of Excellence ceremony, presenting nursing excellence awards to clinicians and nursing leaders who epitomize the values that have made Sarasota Memorial a “Magnet Hospital” for nurses. SMH is the only Magnet Hospital in the region – the nation’s highest nursing honor. SMH has received continuous Magnet designation since 2003. Each four-year designation requires passing a rigorous survey and achieving the organization’s high quality standards. In March, Sarasota Memorial also was ranked in the top 10 hospitals for nurses in the state of Florida, and the highest in the region, according to the NurseJournal, a national resource in education and career development for nurses and aspiring healthcare professionals.