As part of the celebration of Nurses’ Week, Health Carousel Philippines Incorporated, an agency licensed by the Philippine Overseas Employment Authority (POEA) conducted a series of free seminars for local nurses and nursing students. The seminars held in De Los Santos Medical Center in Quezon City, as well as in Gapuz Review Center, University of Cebu, and Southwestern University from October 18-22 were spearheaded by Earl Dalton, Chief Nursing Officer (CNO) of Health Carousel, LLC in Cincinnati, Ohio. Utilizing his over 20 years of acute hospital experience and expertise in healthcare services, Dalton led the talks to aid students and healthcare professionals in their career development. Dalton is also set to talk before the attendees of the Philippine Nurses Association Annual National Convention on October 23, 2019 in Cebu City. As one of the organizations that recognize the value of nursing as a profession, Health Carousel Philippines, Inc. has been helping local nurses to improve their skills and knowledge through deployment. For more than 15 years now, the company has sent around 2,000 healthcare professionals to be trained and to work in the US. According to Health Carousel Philippines, Inc. President Connie dela Cruz, this is the agency’s way of helping the local healthcare delivery system. “Nursing is a heroic profession, it pledges service to various people with various conditions. They provide care, love, and service. They sacrifice so much of themselves to answer the calling to serve humanity and preserve life, hence we continue to find ways to help them further,” dela Cruz said. “This is the way to go. Most of our nurses choose this profession to work abroad, for most, they dream of working and living in the US. More and more countries around the world are in need of Filipino nurses,” she added. “Instead of going against the current, we need to come up with innovative solutions to support the nurses’ dream and at the same time help the Philippine healthcare delivery system,” she noted. According to the data from the Professional Regulation Commission, there are an estimated 885,948 registered nurses in the Philippines in 2016. While there’s still a considerable percentage of nurses who chose to stay in the country, there’s an accumulating number of Filipino nurses working abroad. In fact, based on the records of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA), from 2012, there are around 90,000 Filipino nurses overseas. Ensuring a well-managed, sustainable, and ethical recruitment model, Health Carousel Philippines, Inc. aids not just nurses but also physical therapists and medical technologists to land job opportunities in the US and  improve their lives. The agency also seeks to raise the standards of recruitment practices in the Philippines, a goal consistent with the goal of the industry. “We value highly our candidates.  Amidst the challenges in U.S. immigration, we continue to find ways to serve better our customers and provide them smooth journey to achieving their dreams.  We are driven by our higher purpose which is to change people’s lives through application of our core values like excellence, integrity, service and teamwork,” she said. Observed every last week of October, Nurses’ Week was declared by the virtue of Proclamation No. 539 signed by former President Carlos Garcia in 1958. The decree also named the Filipino Nurses Association, now the Philippine Nurses Association, as the group in charge of the celebration, which aims to put importance on the contribution of nurses in the society.