FLORENCE, Ky. — The Kentucky Nurses Association (KNA) is celebrating Nurses Month this May in honor of the 90,000 nurses who live and work in Kentucky.

KNA CEO Delanor Manson has been a nurse for more than 40 years and knows a thing or two about the role nurses play in society.

“If there are no nurses, there’s no health care,” Manson said. “If 53.3% of the health care workforce is nurses, if that disappeared, how much health care do you think would be happening? Not much.”

Nurses Month is a step up from the Nurses Week celebrated by the American Nurses Association. Manson said Kentucky’s nurses deserve the recognition.

“They spend most of the time with patients, whether it’s in ambulatory care, or whether it’s home care or hospice care, or in a hospital,” she said. “And I think that many people think that all it takes for a nurse to be a nurse is that they care."

"Nurses are caring, but they are also very technical, and they have autonomy in caring for patients and doing assessments.”

The KNA's Apricot Ribbon Campaign calls for Kentuckians to tie apricot-colored ribbons and bows around trees, lampposts and any other landmarks as a visible sign of how much nurses are valued and appreciated. It’s something the organization also did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I personally purchased all of the apricot ribbons in the entire United States," Manson said. "It took them four years to build up enough apricot ribbons for us to be able to do it again."

Manson said the nursing industry, like many others, is facing a workforce shortage. She said one possible reason is some nurses may feel underappreciated.

“They feel like maybe people just don’t know what it takes to be a nurse,” Manson said. “What we need to do is not only recruit nurses, but we also need to retain nurses.”

The KNA is having a legislative conference May 17. Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., will be there for a ceremonial signing.

The organization will also have a social justice movie night to look at preventing workplace violence toward nurses