Staff members at Kings County Hospital say they are marking National Nurse Appreciation Week by working hard.

Nicole Brown is the head nurse of a general medicine ward there. She says this week is an important time of year.

"It allows us to reflect on the hard work that we do and the patients that we take care of," she says. "It also motivates us to say we have more work to do."

Nurses work 12-hour shifts and are assigned to cover up to seven patients at a time, Brown says.

Kings County patients like Andrea Springer say they appreciate the effort.

"Every one of them lights up my face -- I'm not kidding," she says.