The website of the American Nurses Association indicates that 2017 has been designated “Year of the Healthy Nurse,” in honor of those who lead the charge for health and wellness.
Nursing professionals on St. Croix and St. Maarten organized religious services to kick-off the week of celebration and this year they selected Seventh-day Adventist (SDA)congregations for the experience. Mindful of the unselfish service rendered by these professionals, the SDA Church in the North Caribbean Conference (NCC) embraced the opportunity to connect and warmly welcomed the communities to two venues: The Peter’s Rest SDA Church on St. Croix and the Philipsburg SDA Church on St. Maarten.
On St. Maarten, nurses from the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and several nursing homes united in thanksgiving and praise as well as to seek the Lord’s continued blessings. Pastor Kumal Smith delivered the exhortation, “I Am That I Am.” He reminded attendees that the method of Jesus’ healing always dealt with the root of the problem and demonstrated that what He has done [may be emulated, even surpassed in the power of the Holy Spirit,] by His followers today.
On St. Croix, Pastor Royston Philbert challenged nurses to embrace their calling to serve as ministers of God [serve humanity]: “We appreciate the work that you do in conveying to those that you care for, that you not only care but you love them and that this is a blessed place even though they are not well.” Pastor Philbert reiterated that, “In [your] calling as nurses, [you] must know what it means to love to the end, often to the end of a patient’s life: Your touch and your voice may be the last memory that man or woman or child has in this life. And you must know what it means to love to the end of your resources. Your capacity to give and cure and care must go to the end.”
Regard for these professionals was reinforced by Pastor Silton Browne, President of the NCC, in a short message to the nurses at the end of the religious celebration on St. Croix, “We value your ministry.”
The service offered by many healthcare facilities is supplemented by the generosity of donors. And in April, 2017, the NCC Office staff presented a gift to the Governor Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center, located on St. Croix. The gift included over six dozen blankets to keep the young patients of the pediatric ward warm while in the hospital. The Seventh-day Adventist Church, worldwide, operates scores of health facilities, endorses a holistic approach to health and wellness, and supports nurses and care-giving professionals.