Veterans Day: We salute our staff and community
By Cheryl Wolfe, President and CEO of Salem Health
It’s a privilege to honor Veterans Day in our community on behalf of Salem Health. Nov. 11 is both a public — and very personal — day for me to honor.
I’m proud to note that we have 156 employees on record (and probably many more) who served our country before signing on to care for you as nurses, doctors and dozens of other roles at Salem Health.
They inspire us with their teamwork, their love for our country and their compassion for our patients and patients’ families.
Military personnel spend months, even years, away from home, missing milestones many of us take for granted. They put their own lives on the line so we can enjoy freedom. They fight for the rights of people they will never meet, for a future we have yet to create. That’s what I call patriotism!
Our hearts go out to their loved ones, too. To the spouses and partners who lived as nomads or far away from each other. To the children who accepted a parent’s absence as a way of life … and to the parents who held their breath, waiting for a safe return.
My own pride is also deeply personal.
My husband Don Bowers, who passed away from cancer, was a highly decorated veteran who served two tours in Vietnam and spent more than two decades in the army. Most of my uncles and cousins served in WW2 and Vietnam.
Thank you to our veterans for instilling a passion for selfless public service and compassion, which we so desperately need in our community and throughout the world.