40 Nurses Just Got $10K Each From the Simms/Mann Family Foundation — Here’s Why

Image Source: The Simms/Mann Family Foundation

Grab your coffee and listen up — because for once, someone is doing the thing nurses all joke about during those 12-hour shifts: Giving nurses cold, hard cash — no strings attached.

Yep. You heard that right. $10,000. Boom. Just for being awesome.

The Simms/Mann Family Foundation just handed out $10,000 to 40 nurses who go above and beyond for humanity.

These nurses are saving lives, leading disaster plans, teaching the world about cancer treatments, and making healthcare safer for everybody.

The winner of the cash prizes includes nurses who:

• Moved entire chemotherapy centers during wildfires (because cancer doesn’t care about natural disasters).
• Helped a patient get an experimental drug that gave him one more precious year with his family.
• Advocated for national health policies to make healthcare safer for both nurses and patients. (Because no one needs another “Code Brown” emergency, right?)

Nurses = Problem Solvers

The Off the Chart: Rewarding Nursing Greatness campaign isn’t just about handing out cash — it’s about showing the world all the amazing things nurses do, day in and day out!

These nurses are running hospitals, leading research, saving communities, and keeping healthcare from completely falling apart. Victoria Mann Simms, the foundation's president, put it perfectly. This campaign “shines a light on and rewards nurses for their leadership, ingenuity, and expertise in caring for their fellow humans and future generations.”

(Translation: Nurses are basically holding the healthcare system together with duct tape and sheer willpower — and it’s time the world noticed.)

Why This Matters

The nursing world is struggling, people. The International Council of Nurses says if we don't start seriously investing in nurses, we’re looking at nearly 900,000 nurses leaving the workforce by 2027. That's almost 2 million years of nursing experience just walking out the door.

ICN's president, Dr. Pamela Cipriano: "Investing in nurses’ careers, education, and leadership results in an excellent return on investment that means every dollar spent pays for itself many times over."

Or in nurse lingo: If you don't put money into nursing now, you're gonna be calling 911 later.

What Happens Next?

On May 28, there will be a big celebration to honor these nursing rockstars. UCLA Health President Johnese Spisso will give remarks — probably with a box of tissues nearby, because let’s be honest, these stories are tearjerkers.

And if you want to check out more about these incredible humans (and maybe ugly-cry into your stethoscope), you can head over to the Off the Chart Project webpage.

Bottom Line?

Nurses are scientists, advocates, emergency planners, educators — and now, thanks to Off the Chart, a few more of them can pay off some student loans.

🤔Nurses, how would $10,000 change your life? Tell us what you would do if you were a recipient of this gift in the comments below.