Nurses in Anguilla, who represent the Anguilla Nurses Association, met on Monday evening, May 9th, to hold a candlelight march, followed by a church service at the Ebenezer Methodist Church in The Valley.
The activity was held to commemorate the commencement of Nurses Month under the theme Nurses: A Voice to Lead – Invest in Nursing and Respect Rights to secure Global Health.
A street procession, accompanied by police escort, began at the church and headed east to Coronation Park. There, a U-turn was made with the procession returning westward in the dim twilight, to end at the church.
The church service that followed was moderated by Circuit Minister, Rev. Vincia Celestine. Public Relations Officer,
Ms Sharma Richardson
Nurse Magdalina Jean-Louis, offered the opening prayer in which she asked the Lord’s forgiveness for the times when nurses had failed to live up to their calling.
She prayed that the Lord would consecrate them all afresh and enable them to perform their duties effectively. She then said that as one who is “called to be a voice to lead”, it was her pleasure to welcome all in attendance. Everyone then lustily sang the song, “Lean on Me”.
The President of the Anguilla Nurses Association, Ms. Sherma Richardson, spoke highly of the exemplary Florence Nightingale, “The Lady with the Lamp”, who was particularly known for her dedication to her task of providing healing conditions for fallen British soldiers of the Crimean War in the mid-1800’s.
Ms. Richardson said, “The aim of celebrating Nurses Month is to increase global awareness of nurses’ contributions towards healthcare.” She said that the spotlight this month is on nurses, worldwide, who are given the rightful recognition which they so much deserve, for their sterling contribution to healthcare delivery.
“Nurses form the largest healthcare profession in the world,” she stated, “and this is rightly deemed the heartbeat of healthcare. We have been well trained and educated to maintain the holistic health and wellness of patients, and we are usually the first point of care in any healthcare setting.”
She encouraged her colleagues, saying: “Let us continue to carry the flame of Florence’s symbolic lamp, lit in our hearts. It is an emblem of devotion to those entrusted to our care. This Nightingale flame has been carried by our fellow retired nurses and it has been passed on to us.
“Let’s continue to uphold nursing as an honourable vocation,” the President encouraged. “In our profession, we have seen some stressful days; and we may have even shed some private tears from being overwhelmed. But hold strong. Keep the faith, and be comforted, knowing that better days are ahead.”
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health, Mr. Foster Rogers, encouraged the nurses to keep the fire of the flame burning. “When I saw that symbolic fire of the candles in the hands of the nurses on the march, this evening,” he observed, “I realise that this fire represents the passing of knowledge as well as the passing of love, training, and the passing of the critical elements of the health profession. Fire also envisages that all these qualities last and keep on burning forever.”
He told the nurses: “When you transfer knowledge, kindness and love, you will have transferred the fire of your virtues, as nurses, to future generations.”
Also speaking at the service was the CEO of the Health Authority of Anguilla, Mrs. Maeza Demis-Adams. She told the nurses: “You know the story of Ms. Nightingale. It is our story – the story of nursing. Let your ‘Nightingale voices’ resound for the good of nursing in this island, the region and the world. This is nurse’s only hope for a brighter future.”
She continued to speak directly to the nurses in caring tones: “The theme says, ‘Invest in Nursing and Respect Rights to Secure Global Health’. There is no global health without nurses, and the nursing shortage is very real. It is a real threat to the fabric of achieving global health. I am therefore happy to let you know that…through advocacy we were able to secure over $500,000 which will be dedicated to securing seven new nursing positions, after acknowledging the significant strain that the pandemic has placed on nurses – and the need for more staff.”
The CEO said that she vows to always be an advocate for nursing. She also pledged the availability of $5,000 of her own resources that would go towards defraying expenses for the Nurse of the Year to attend a Nursing Conference. She noted that, through this gesture, she desired to express her gratitude for fifteen years since she had graduated from Nursing School.
“This is in gratitude to a profession that has molded my career and catapulted me to where I am today,” she reflected. “And so, I proudly wear that label ‘Just a Nurse’ with honour. Happy Nurses Week!” Her resonating message was met with hearty applause by all.
As a prelude to the sermon by Rev. Celestine, the song “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” was passionately sung. The Reverend wished the nurses a happy Nurses Month, and said she was thankful for the privilege afforded her to share in the service. She thanked the Anguilla Nurses Association for choosing Ebenezer as the venue for the evening’s activity.
She then extended special thanks for the work that the nurses had been doing during the Covid pandemic. She took much time out to commend them, and the Ministry of Health, at large, for curtailing the local spread of the virus. “Kudos to you, nurses! We salute you for the immense pride that you take in your work, and the love that you share. Indeed nursing is a calling!” she stressed.
Rev. Celestine then preached a sermon that showed the similarity between the call to nursing and the call to ministry. “As nurses, you are called to give of yourselves for the care and wellbeing of others,” she proclaimed. “You are skilled companions alongside people during their times of pain and suffering and, as one of your colleagues puts it, ‘you don’t just heal with your hands, but you heal with your hearts’. And this is deeply theological.”
At the end of her sermon, the preacher prayed fervently for the team of nurses who then sang the Nurses’ Song and emphatically recited the Nurses’ Pledge.
