CommonSpirit Honors Nurses for Nurses Week 2026

Ashley Cooper embodies the spirit of compassionate care and humankindness. A registered nurse at French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, CA, Ashley’s journey to becoming a nurse began in childhood when she would help her mom care for elderly members of their church. 

“We would bring meals, or clean their house, and they would occasionally have a caregiver in the home. That was my first introduction into caregiving, what that means and the importance of the role and significance of it,” she said.  

Nurses are there during all moments of care, big and small. Whether she’s taking a patient’s blood pressure or walking them through a procedure, Ashley’s favorite thing about caring for patients is the connection she makes with each of them.

“I've also been a patient, so I have seen both sides. The significance of building that connection and having a person you trust in your caregiving role that's an honorable role to have,” she said. “As a nurse, it's not just a job, it's an incredible honor that we're there for people at their most vulnerable and be able to meet their needs and anticipate what they might be going through.”

This Nurses Week, CommonSpirit Health is honoring our nurses who are there for patients in every moment of care. Each year during Nurses Week, CommonSpirit features its own nursing staff in its campaign materials. This year’s CommonSpirit Nurses Week campaign features Ashley and her nurse colleagues.  

In her free time, Ashley sings, plays guitar and writes music. When her colleagues learned this, they encouraged her to sing in this year’s Nurse’s Week video.  

“I felt honored that people at work knew I sing and they felt that I could be part of the project,” she said. 

CommonSpirit’s 2026 Nurses Week video showcases Ashley singing the hymn “Be Thou My Vision” over scenes of CommonSpirit nurses providing care in a variety of settings.

“It moved me to tears,” Ashley recalled when she saw the finished video.

She was especially moved by seeing her colleagues in the video. 

“It was really special to see the different facets of nursing care represented, and how nurses actually do affect patients,” she said. “It’s not always like at the bedside in the hospital. It could be in the cath lab or in their home. It seemed like a really special tribute to all of those roles. 

“The nurses at CommonSpirit really do take pride in their roles. It’s why I love working here; and seeing that on the screen is really moving.” 

Watch CommonSpirit’s Nurses Week video here