FORT SMITH, Ark. — It's National Nurses Week, a time to celebrate the men and women fighting to keep our communities safe.
There are different fields you can go into as a nurse.
In today's National Nurses Week spotlight, we meet a nurse at a senior living community in Fort Smith who knew she wanted to be a nurse ever since she was a little girl.
Luckily, the residents and staff at Methodist Village Senior Living have been untouched by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
"We, fortunately, have not had any COVID-19 positive cases," Millie Meyers, a chief nursing officer at Methodist Village Senior Living, said.
Meyers told 5NEWS that doesn't mean they haven't been impacted.
The facility has been on lock-down for almost two months.
"Meaning that we have no visitors, and it's definitely impacted our residents. They are missing their families and their loved ones."
Meyers said her staff has really stepped up during this time, helping the residents combat loneliness.
"Right now, we're in the middle of doing hallway Bingo and so following the guidelines keeping our residents six feet away, but at least they can come out in the halls and see other people."
She says, for the most part, things inside the building are calm and peaceful, but, everyone has been working long hours during the outbreak.
"I'm tired. I'm overwhelmed. A little anxious about everything, but I have a great support team with my coworkers, and of course, my family, but yeah, I'm ready for normalcy to return," Meyers said.
Meyers told 5NEWS nursing was always in her blood. When she was 4-years-old, she asked for a nursing uniform for Christmas.
"I remember wearing that white dress with that blue Florence nightingale cape and feeling like a superhero back then."
Meyers might not consider herself a hero now, but many would disagree.
"I think my favorite part about being a nurse is just having those residents or patients trust me, look up to me for their care."
Meyers calls nursing one of the most trusted professions, and that's something she takes very seriously.
Sponsored by: Methodist Village Senior Living