It was not due to collective superstition but their clinical sense of duty that Navy Nurse Corps members held their 108th anniversary a day earlier on May 12, 2016 at Naval Hospital Bremerton (NHB).

The birthday celebration culminated a week-long recognition of events representing Navy Nurse Corps' contributions as part of Navy Medicine. Then-President Theodore Roosevelt signed the Naval Appropriations Bill May 13, 1908 that authorized the establishment of the Nurse Corps as a unique staff corps of the Navy.

"There is a lot to be proud of with the Navy Nurse Corps. They have given 108 years of unwavering commitment, unwavering compassion and unwavering caring to the Navy and Navy Medicine. They are a culture of excellence. The Navy Nurse Corps shines throughout the world and makes the Navy and Navy Medicine great," said Capt. David Weiss, Naval Hospital Bremerton commanding officer.

Acting Executive Officer, Cmdr. Annie Case, Quality Management Department head, shared on her experience as part of the Navy Nurse Corps noting that when she began as an ensign, little did she realize back then that her career would lead to where she is today.

"I never thought that I would be where I am today and becoming a Navy captain in two months," Case said, who was also NHB's Perioperative (Main Operating Room) Department head. In that role, Case was instrumental, along with other main OR nurses, in having NHB recognized by the Competency and Credentialing Institute (CCI) with the 2015 Honorable Mention distinction for the True North Award, which acknowledges medical facilities like NHB whose True North principles guide their nursing staff to be lifelong learners, models of competent practice and advocates for excellence.

There are approximately 115 nurses at NHB, out of the Navy's Active and Reserve Nurse Corps components of the 4,200 members currently serving. NHB nurses continue to play pivotal roles in providing quality health care at home and abroad. NHB Nurse Corps staff members are currently embarked on hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH 19) participating in Pacific Partnership 2016, as well as deployed down range in Afghanistan.

Capt. Amy McBride, NHB director for nursing services read birthday greetings from Rear Adm. R.J. McCormick-Boyle, sharing, "As we gather to celebrate our Navy Nurse Corps 108th anniversary I thank each of you, our Active Duty, reserve component, federal civilian and contract nurses for your tireless commitment to Sailors, Marines, Soldiers, Airman, Coast Guardsmen, families and all others we are so privileged to serve."

"Navy nurses are fully committed to keep the Navy and Marine Corps family healthy, ready and on the job and exemplify the guiding principles of integrity, accountability, initiative and toughness daily," wrote McCormick-Boyle.

Lt. Lauryn Kramer was singled out amongst her peers as the recipient of the Junior Nurse Corps Excellence award.

The Navy Nurse Corps birthday also coincides during National Nurses Week, celebrated annually May 6 to May 12, the birthday of Florence Nightingale (1820-1910), the founder of modern nursing.

The National Nurse Week for NHB's Nurse Corps began May 7, with the 3rd Annual Nurse Corps 'Aloha Moani 5K Fun Run.' The run is held annually in memory of Lt. Rebekah Moani Daniel, an NHB labor and delivery nurse, and to celebrate her life as a team with her family and friends.

Various Nurse Corps members also took part in a speed mentoring forum that gave interested service members the opportunity to meet with them in an informal setting and discuss professional pathways, network and possibly find a potential mentor in applying for the corps. The nurses shared on their diverse experiences, backgrounds and explained specific specialties such as family nurse practitioners, executive medicine, nurse anesthetists, clinical nurse specialists, perioperative nursing, maternal child nursing, ambulatory, medical surgical, emergency, critical care nurses, pediatric and flight nursing, as well as deployment experiences.

One hundred eight years ago, Naval Hospital Bremerton was a 16 bed wooden two-story frame building for sick quarters on Puget Sound Naval Shipyard. America's involvement in World War I was still a few years away. In those times and in those conditions, such as now, the Navy Nurse Corps continues to provide compassion, care and concern in all they do, and all they serve.

For more information, visit www.navy.mil, www.facebook.com/usnavy, or www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Naval Hospital Bremerton, visit www.navy.mil/.