Ideas That Work: Create a Wall of Inspiration

During the first wave of the pandemic, a colleague of Rebecca Norton, RN, said, “We’re going to do this.” She meant the staff at CentraState Healthcare System’s Ambulatory Surgery Center in Freehold, N.J., would successfully navigate COVID-19 and continue to serve patients in need. That made Ms. Norton think of the iconic World War II poster of ammunition factory worker Rosie the Riveter and her famous “We can do it!” quote. Ms. Norton replicated the poster’s backdrop, sans Rosie, with posterboard and placed it outside the entrance of the ORs. She then took photos of surgical team members, anesthesia providers, nurses, sterile processing technicians and housekeeping employees standing in front of the poster and used the pictures to create a “Warrior Wall” in the facility’s lobby. The inspirational display eventually covered three walls. Some employees used the photos as their social media profile pictures. The display was up for about a year. When it was taken down, many staff members took their photos and placed them outside their lockers. “Everyone was really stressed during the first few months of the pandemic, and I think the display helped us maintain our attitude of teamwork and determination,” says Ms. Norton. She thinks the sentiment behind Rosie the Riveter is timeless and could be used at any time to recognize hard-working staff. “We’re never done going through tough times,” notes Ms. Norton.