As a travel nurse with over four years of experience in a pediatric cardiac critical care unit, Aishleen O’Brien, had frequently been asked: “what’s the best way to thank a nurse?” After a year of pondering this question and trying to decide on the right answer, she came up with the idea of Nightingale Express.

Nightingale Express, as named after Florence Nightingale the “Mother of Nursing.” It launched in September 2016 and sells handmade custom gift boxes specifically crafted for nurses and student nurses.

“It’s been a year in the making, so it’s exciting to get the products out!,” said O’Brien, “I wanted to make it apparent that these boxes are related to nurses. So I took “Nightingale” from Florence Nightingale and then added “Express” to represent the delivery service.”

All of the boxes can be shipped to any state in the U.S. with the primary goal of creating a way to thank nurses for everything they do.

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There are currently five custom gift box options to choose from, all named after historical nurses. These five boxes are “The Edward,” “The Mary,” “The Walt,” “The Florence,” and “The Clara.” Prices range from $26 to $90.

“I think one box that will be popular at the beginning of a semester will be “The Florence” for clinical students and first-semester nursing students,” said O’Brien.

Each box is specially handmade and put together by O’Brien, who chooses the items depending on what her customers tell her about the nurse who is to receive the gift box.

When a customer orders a box, they answer questions about the nurse recipient’s title, personality, favorite colors, and scents. Using this information O’Brien customizes the box. Customers can also include a handwritten message to further personalize the gift.

“The business has only been up for a couple weeks, but we’ve sold twenty percent of our inventory so far and it’s been great to hear positive feedback,” said O’Brien.

Currently, each box is being shipped out from Seattle, WA. where O’Brien resides and continues her work as a travel nurse.

In addition to the business’ website, O’Brien has also started a blog for Nightingale Express that features different nurses from around the country and focuses on their interests and locations.

“I wanted to utilize the blog to create a nurse community,” said O’Brien, “Nightingale Express is not only a box service but also a community where nurses are taking care of themselves, as well as others.”

For orders and more about O’Brien’s story, visit Nightingale Express here.