By Grace Greene | Project Manager
Earlier this month, our hospital (HCBH) celebrated and honored the nurses here. International Nurses Day is celebrated every year on May 12th, the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Many refer to her as the Mother of Modern Nursing - we remember her example of serving with a lamp during war time and fighting to improve sanitation to cut down on infection rates.
It is a great day to simply step back and celebrate the work that the nursing staff here does every day. This past year, they worked while other facilities were on strike. They worked when their patient load increased. They worked during flooding and in light of a looming hurricane. They work on holidays, weekends, nights, and days. HCBH has incredible staff.
During this very same week at a hospital close by, I walked in to see a woman lying on a bed with no sheets and no pillow. She was in a maternity ward, strapped down, waiting for her eclamptic fit to finish. She had been at home, nearly 6 months pregnant, and had undiagnosed pre-eclampsia. He baby had died due to her not receiving treatment. And she herself was fighting for her life.
In the UK this year, a report was released – the information stating that “less than 1 woman in every million who gives birth now dies of eclampsia.” (https://www.npeu.ox.ac.uk/mbrrace-uk/reports) This is an incredible achievement for the NHS. What an incredible thing to celebrate, especially for the women giving birth in the United Kingdom.
In many places around the world, Haiti included, this unfortunately is not the case. Here the staff continues to work to recognise and treat things such as eclampsia.
We celebrate the nurses at HCBH and all that they do, especially within the eternally busy maternity and paediatric units. We see how their work has value, and we see how they labour on. We recognise their part that has built HCBH to be what it is today- bringing healthcare to the people of Northern Haiti. And together we remember the work that is left to be done - of providing life-saving healthcare to the world’s most vulnerable.
Thank you for supporting these incredible nurses and all the other staff who make our hospital a place for mothers and children to receive the best care available in Northern Haiti.
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