The kudos for emergency room nurses kept pouring in last week as hospitals across Hudson County joined in celebrating National Emergency Room Nurse Appreciation Week. "An emergency nurse has to be every kind of nurse," said Kim Palestis, nurse manager of the ER at Jersey City Medical Center-Barnabas Health. "They have to know how to take care of surgical patients, patients that need to go to the operating room, patients who are dying, ICU patients, pediatric patients. Instead of having one specialty, you need to be a jack of all trades." ER nurses are always on alert, whether it be for a disease or a violent patient.
