As you well know, the title of this journal is Family & Community Health. I have reflected over the meaning of the words family and community over the past 4 weeks. In many ways, both words have come to mean much more to me. At this writing, nearly a month has passed since the tragic shootings at Virginia Tech. The entire world witnessed the horror of April 16 and was affected either directly or indirectly by the events of that awful day. The outpouring of support on local, national, and international levels has been enormous.
Through our shock and dismay, we have found strength in both family and community. We all joined with the victims' families and friends as well as the entire Tech community to grieve with and support one another. I saw compassion and unity in makeshift memorials, candlelight vigils, the tolling of bells, and moments of silence.
We have shed countless tears together. We have also searched for explanations of how and why such a tragedy could occur. Answers have not come easily. In a sense we have been an extended family and a community in grieving. And so it is that together, as a community-the collective "we"-move forward. In a poem written hours after the tragedy, Nikki Giovanni, Virginia Tech professor of English, movingly declared, "We are strong enough to stand tall tearlessly, we are brave enough to bend to cry, and we are sad enough to know that we must laugh again."
Sarah Cox Pry, a 2001 School of Nursing graduate from the University of Virginia, wrote to us soon after the Tech tragedy.
As a member of the healthcare team in the ER at Montgomery Regional Hospital and a witness to one of the most horrific scenes many will see in their career, I have to write about how proud I am to be a nurse. Since my graduation from UVA in 2001, I have worked in several different areas in nursing. Never have I been so aware of what it means to be a nurse as Monday April 16, 2007. In the face of the unfathomable, I saw kindness, compassion, strength and knowledge all come together to save lives. Before Monday morning, I knew that the staff of our ER and our hospital were very good, but I now know that I am working among some of the best in the field. It is a wonderful feeling to have been a part of a community that acted as a team that day. From our all-volunteer EMS staff, to the police, to the doctors, nurses, housekeepers, and administrative staff, I am humbled and honored to have witnessed such brave acts in the midst of such horror. We enter nursing to serve others, but we never know when our limits are going to be stretched. I now know what it truly means to be a nurse and I have never been prouder.
While Sarah wrote specifically about nursing, one could easily replace the word nurse with surgeon, anesthesiologist, psychiatrist, physical therapist, or whatever your area of practice as a healthcare practitioner. I was particularly touched by Sarah's description of her role as a member of the healthcare team within a healthcare community.
The articles in this issue of Family & Community Health examine a variety of topics using diverse lenses and methods. All are focused, however, on improving healthcare for individuals, families, and communities. I encourage you to look for ways to apply the contents of these articles in ways that will improve the healthcare you provide and build a healthcare family and community in the localities in which you work and live.
Jeanette Lancaster