AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums The Cayes Specials & Events Nurses Celebrated

It's Nurses week - and so far the KHMH has been honoring its nurses with a number of activities. Yesterday their nurses were pampered all day with a Spa day - which was done by the Young Women's Christian Association cosmetology class. And today a thanksgiving service was held for the nurses.

Mavis Palacio - Director of Nursing Services, KHMH
"Usually between the Second week, between the 6th and 12th of May, we celebrate nurses week, and this year, nurses week is from the 8th until the 14th May. Karl Heusner is recognizing our nurses by having some activities. On Monday we had a spa for the nurses, where they could come and get massages, and it didn't matter if it was male or female nurses; they just came. And then, on Tuesday Dr. Longworth, the C.E.O at Karl Heusner, he went on all the units and he pinned the nurses, something like this; each nurse got a pin. And today, Wednesday, we're having a thanksgiving services for the nurses. So some of the nurses are out here right now; the others are at work. This evening, we'll be having a cocktail for the nurses, and tomorrow Karl Heusner Nurses will meet with the other nurses country-wide. There will be a conference for the nurses."

The KHMH has a hundred and seventy nurses present. The week started on May 8 and will conclude on the 14.

Channel 7

This week is being celebrated as Nurses Week under the theme 'Closing the gap: Increasing the access and equity'. Mavis Palacio, Director Nursing Services at the Karl Hesuner Memorial Hospital says the staff at Belize's largest hospital comprises one hundred and seventy nurses made up of practical and registered nurses. Palacio says they are highlighting the week with a number of activities.

Mavis Palacio - Director, Nursing Services, KHMH
"Ministry of Health trained some public health nurses and we had two nurses from Karl Heusner attending the public health nurse program. They also had a rural health nursing program where he had three or four of our nurses who attended that program. The program is now completed and the nurses will be deployed to different areas in the country to work as rural health nurses. At Karl Heusner there are times when we do not really meet the standards that we should meet but on a whole I think Karl Heusner as the flag ship for this country has done really well. There are patients who come to this hospital who we never thought would recover from whatever illness or accident or the violence going on and they have walked out of this hospital and gone home to live almost a normal life. There are times when because of the shortage they have had to put in extra hours to take care of our patients. Yes there will be times when things do not go the way you want them to but we are always striving to give quality care to our patients."

Fourteen new public health nurses and 23 rural health nurses were provided support nursing training and were deployed to various parts across the country. Palacio says three staff nurses from the KHMH participated in this initiative and she applauded the staff for their devotion to services at the hospital. The ministry of health also provides monthly stipends to thirty five student nurses in various nursing programs at the University of Belize, increasing the access to nursing education and bridging the human resource gap to alleviate the current nursing shortage.

LOVEFM

Nurses' Week; healthcare providers celebrated

There is a week or a month dedicated to the people whose work although significant, usually goes unappreciated. Nurses are amongst the professionals whose work, though vital, also goes unrewarded. That's why this week is being celebrated as Nurses Week for the country's five hundred plus nurses. A ceremony was held earlier today at the K.H.M.H. in honor of these health care providers.

Nurse Mavis Palacio, Director of Nursing Services, K.H.M.H.

"Usually in May, the second week of May between the sixth and twelfth of May we celebrate Nurses Week. This year, Nurses' Week is from the eighth until the fourteenth of May. Karl Heusner is recognizing our nurses by having some activities. On Monday we had a spa for the nurses where they could come and get massage-it didn't matter if it was female or male nurses. Then on Tuesday, Doctor Longsworth, the C.E.O. at Karl Heusner, he went to all the units and he pinned the nurses; each nurse got a pin. And now today, Wednesday, we're having a thanksgiving services for the nurses. So some nurses are here and the others are at work. This evening we will be having a cocktail for nurses and tomorrow Karl Heusner nurses will meet with nurses countrywide and there will be a conference for the nurses."

Jose Sanchez

"About how many nurses are there across the country?"

Nurse Mavis Palacio

Mavis Palacio

"It's about five hundred or so, but I know at Karl Heusner we have a hundred and seventy nurses."

Jose Sanchez

I know in the past few years, a lot of our nurses have been migrating to the U.S. for better pay, better salary. So this week has a lot of importance right?"

Nurse Mavis Palacio

"Yes it is very important to us because as you've said we still have nurses that are leaving so we will see many of the nurses working are not necessarily Belizeans. We have nurses from all other countries working here with us and we need to do that so as to the give the care that we need to give to our patients. I have been in nursing for thirty something years and we have always celebrated nurses' week."

Jose Sanchez

"So essentially our local nurses are here for the love of our people?'

Nurse Mavis Palacio

"Yes that is so and the love of the job I would say."

The annual nurses' conference will begin on Thursday.

Channel 5