Marion County leaders celebrate National Nurses Week, National Hospital Week
Ocala, Fla. — Officials with HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and HCA Florida West Marion Hospital said they celebrated the proclamation from the Marion County Board of County Commissioners recognizing National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week.
The presentation at the May 6 County Commission meeting was also the start of National Nurses Week, May 6-12.
The annual timing of both National Nurses Week and National Hospital Week, which run from May 11-17 in 2025, commemorates the birth of Florence Nightingale, considered the founder of modern nursing.
“Our hospitals are extremely important. We’re very, very fortunate in Marion County to have the two systems that we have, especially with HCA Florida Ocala Hospital having the trauma center that they have and that we all worked so tirelessly to make sure that came to fruition,” Marion County Commission Chairwoman Kathy Bryant said. “We appreciate your presence in our community and everything that you do, not just when it comes to healthcare but for the jobs that you provide as well.”
“Nurses Week and Hospital Week are an opportunity to celebrate the heroes who are behind the scenes every day,” Chief Executive Officer of HCA Florida Ocala Hospital Alan Keesee said. Keesee added that he appreciated the fact, as noted in the proclamation, that 45% of hospital staff nationally are non-clinical employees, such as sanitation workers, food service workers, maintenance crews, and others.
“It takes a whole village — including amazing nurses and amazing physicians — to care for our community,” Keesee said. “We just want to say thank you to all the healthcare workers out there and all the students who are aspiring to go into healthcare who are supported by our great school system. It really is a rewarding career profession. We’re excited to keep showing up and doing it every day for you.”
According to the Florida Hospital Association, hospitals in Florida produce an annual statewide economic output of $178 billion.
Hospitals also directly employ more than 322,000 Floridians and generate a collective payroll that exceeds $28 billion.
The association notes that each hospital job supports 1.73 additional jobs throughout Florida.
In Marion County as of 2024, according to Marion County’s Popular Annual Financial Report, HCA Florida Healthcare is the third-largest employer in the community and ranks No. 2 among the largest individual property taxpayers.