TAMPA, Fla. — Tuesday marks the end of Nurse’s Appreciation Week. 

It also is the 200th birthday of the woman considered the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, whose legacy continues to impact those who undertake the profession around the world. 

That impact is especially important in the current fight against COVID-19. 

“She is a role model for nurses. She highlighted a lot of importance of infection control measures,” said Dr. Alan Todd, Assistant Dean of the Center for Experimental Learning and Simulation at USF. 

Nightingale gained notoriety from her work during the Crimean War in the mid 1800s, working to implement measures to protect soldiers dying from disease.

Her ideas, revolutionary at the time, may sound very familiar. 

“Kind of putting one activity and the other together and realizing that is she and other people who were taking care of patients at the time wash their hands more frequently. They saw a huge decrease in infections,” said Dr. Tiffany Gwartney, Interim Assistant Dean of USF Undergraduate and Global Programs. 

“She was identified as someone who felt like that people who were infected should be separated out from those who did not have infection,” Todd explained. 

Nightingale also pushed for protective equipment for nurses, which continues to be a priority for those on the front lines in the fight against COVID-19. 

“Certainly during this time when I think we are all concerned I think about the spread of COVID-19 that it only highlights the importance, I think, for health care workers and nurses in our community to prevent the spread of viruses and diseases,” Todd explained. 

Florence Nightingale died in 1910 at the age of 90.