Nurses at a North Okanagan hospital received a small, but touching gift this weekend for their efforts in helping combat the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
A single rose was given to each nurse at Vernon Jubilee Hospital (VJH). In all, 280 roses were delivered.
Giving away the roses, just in time for Valentine’s Day, was a small business in Vernon: Bramble Bush Floral and Gift Shop.
Global News learned of the giveaway and contacted the store owner, who said it’s giving away single-rose gift cards to nurses who weren’t working this weekend.
“We wanted to say thank you for how hard they’re working,” said store owner Annette Danard, adding she originally wanted to send the roses last Mother’s Day, but couldn’t because of strict hospital rules.
So the company patiently waited until this year. But even then, it took some coordinating, with a nurse organizing the delivery process.
Danard said she’s hearing “that a lot of them are really happy that somebody recognized how hard they were working.”
Added Bramble Bush employee and retired nurse Assunta Shepherd: “We know what they’re going through.”
The nurse at VJH who helped organize the rose deliveries on Friday and Saturday said it was easy to see gratitude from her coworkers.
“It was absolute elation. What a privilege it was to be a part of that,” said Liza Koshman, a clinical practice educator for the operating room.
“It’s such a small gesture, but it means the world. Everyone was so grateful.”
Koshman said “the reception was amazing, and everyone was so pleased and so touched.”