Tyler City Councilwoman Shirley McKellar and UT Tyler President Michael Tidwell pose for a picture at UT Tyler's booth outside of UT Health East Texas during the "24 Hours of Thanks" event, where the school gave gift bags to nurses.

At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, public appreciation for nurses, doctors and frontline workers had skyrocketed across the nation.

Photographs captured the nasty red rashes that sprang up owing to the constant mask wearing. Interviews revealed a severe shortage of PPE that left many worried for their safety. Facebook posts and vlogs made by tearful, exhausted workers detailed the heartbreaking realities of the coronavirus and what it meant for patients no longer able to see their loved ones.

And so videos were recorded, cards written and sent, free meals and flowers delivered – all of it to provide a little bolstering of encouragement, and a message of thanks.

But as the news stories faded, so too did that appreciation.

And Laura Jackson, University of Texas at Tyler’s assistant vice president for government and community affairs, knew that area nurses were still battling the stress of COVID-19.

She and her community engagement team reached out to nursing program graduates earlier this year to see how they could best support those involved in the ongoing fight.

“They told me ‘just a thank you would go a long way,’” Jackson said.

But Jackson and her colleagues, of course, hoped to do something a little bigger.

On Wednesday, she and local officials, including UT Tyler President Michael Tidwell and Councilwoman Shirley McKellar, arrived at area hospitals to embark on “24 Hours of Thanks,” a nurse appreciation event.

“The goal is just to recognize the nurses across the region,” Tidwell said. “They’re doing great work in the face of COVID and so many other challenges and they’re still clocking in every day and taking care of the patients. We just wanted to say thank you.”

Stationed across East Texas at UT Health, Christus Trinity Mother Francis and Good Shepherd Medical Centers, Palestine Regional Medical Center, Longview Regional Medical Center and Everest Rehab Hospital, volunteers would dole out 3,000 gift bags filled with granola bars, hand-written thank you cards, stress balls, new badge clips and a small assortment of other items over the 24-hour period.

Amy Edge, who has worked as a nurse for 18 years, said she was glad for the token of appreciation.

“Oh, I love it,” Edge said. “Sometimes you don’t really feel like you get much recognition.”

As she took a peek at the items inside her bag, her eyes lit up at a multi-colored pen.

“Look, I was real excited when I saw this ink pen,” she chuckled. “That’s so nice that they did that.”

She said that COVID-19 was “for the longest time” a stressful and upsetting reality, especially in her role at pre-op, where patients were unable to see their loved ones before heading in for surgery.

“But, except for the masks, I feel like it’s getting close to going back to normal,” Edge said. “We appreciate everybody’s patience and kindness during this whole time.”

McKellar, who helped to hand out goodies at UT Health East Texas, is a 45-year retired Army nurse who said “to have a moment to honor the great work that our nurses do every single day” was very important to her.

Her best advice for nurses?

“Continue to be cool, calm and collected,” she said.

Just three hours into the event, Tidwell felt confident calling things a success.

“It’s been great,” he said. “The nurses have been happy to see us. They’re dealing with unprecedented conditions right now, and they just like the fact that somebody is saying thank you. It’s a blessing to be able to do it and help those who help all of us.”

The ‘thank you’ bags came courtesy of donated funds from a UT Tyler endowment.