Dear Gator Nurses,

As I shared during my summer message, I have officially retired from the North Florida/South Georgia Veterans Health System in Gainesville. My husband, Chuck, also retired earlier this year, and we have wasted no time in filling up our calendars with travel and visiting with family.

While we were traveling, our friends and family in Florida were enduring the effects of Hurricane Irma. I know the anxiety levels were high all across the state. We could also feel it thousands of miles away, worrying for the safety of our community. I am proud to belong to a profession where individuals are put before oneself. So many nurses had to camp out in the hospitals because it wasn’t safe to return home or work grueling shifts to ensure their patients were cared for during the storm. As Gator Nurses, this was never more apparent than during Hurricane Irma. As we say as Gators: “In all kinds of weather …”

I am excited to help the University of Florida and the College of Nursing launch the newest comprehensive fundraising campaign this October. Giving back to our alma mater is one of the most important things we can do as alumni of UF. No doubt you heard UF has cracked the Top 10 of public institutions across the country, according to U.S. New & World Report. Did you know alumni giving is taken into consideration when determining an institution’s Top 10 rankings? YOU make a difference!

If we have learned anything as nurses, it is that each individual really does make a difference. That’s why we are nurses! And it truly is great to be a Florida Gator Nurse!

Go Gator Nurses!

BarBee Geiger
B.S.N. 1974