Final-year nursing students at Northern Caribbean University (NCU) were recently gifted with laptop computers and stethoscopes by AdventHealth, a Seventh-day Adventist healthcare provider with 53 hospitals in nine states across the United States. The donations, made in partnership with Andrews Memorial Hospital, are aimed at equipping the nursing students with the resources needed to complete their education, while forging a path for excellence and ensuring that the nursing workforce is prepared to tackle the challenges of the future. This is the second batch of 100 laptops that AdventHealth has donated to NCU nursing students this
year.
“I am very grateful, as I did not have a laptop. I had to use my phone, and it was difficult to do research and assignments. The support I have received here today means a lot, because it can help me to prepare better, as I step into the role of a future nurse”, said nursing student Tanneice Blackwood following the handover ceremony at the Kencot Seventh-day Adventist Church in St Andrew on September 5. Dr Audrey Gregory, Executive Vice-President and Chief Executive Officer for AdventHealth, East Florida Division, said the investment by her organisation, and by extension, Andrews Memorial Hospital will go a long way in developing the requisite nurses to add value to all Jamaicans and the world.
“The purpose of the gifts is to break the cycle of poverty through education. You have put education at a high level, and have made the best career choice,” Dr Gregory told the nursing students. In his remarks, Pastor Everett Brown, President of the Jamaica Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists as well as chair of NCU and Andrews Memorial Hospital boards, said the church and by extension, the entire Jamaican Society will benefit from the partnership. “Ultimately the donations have proven to be more than a partnership, but an investment in human
resources. We are not only training nurses, but professionals who will add value to Advent Health, Andrews Memorial Hospital and NCU,” Pastor Brown said. Meanwhile, Donmayne Gyles, Chief Executive Officer at Andrews Memorial Hospital, said the possibilities of the partnership with AdventHealth is endless. Since the initiative was launched, Gyles said the commitment of AdventHealth in the investment growth and development of the students’
future has been exponential.
“We are committed as a hospital, to your training and growth in an ever-changing and evolving landscape. We will continue to unlock opportunities that are valuable to your growth and ensure that you continue to excel,” Gyles said.
While expressing appreciation for the donations by Advent Health, NCU President Professor Lincoln Edwards, implored the students to choose employers who had their best interest at heart. “Students as you seek to complete your studies, it is important that you seek out employers that have your best interest at heart; and are serious about your development, as we continue to do here at NCU. We have an interest in your wellbeing and our partnership with AdventHealth and Andrews Memorial Hospital will ensure that you not only complete your studies but prepare you for your professional career in nursing,” Professor Edwards said.
Northern Caribbean University, has been the trendsetter in nursing education, and is the premier and oldest institution in the Caribbean granting a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. The programme commenced in 1970 and since then, the Department has graduated over 1,400 nurses who are gainfully employed locally, regionally and internationally. Over the years, the institution has maintained an outstanding pass rate in the licensure examination (Regional Examination for Nurse Registration [RENR]) set by the Nursing Council of Jamaica (NCJ).
