Scholarship created to honour nurse

From The Royal Gazette: Two would-be nurses became the first winners of scholarships set up to honour the memory of an intensive care nurse who died two years ago.

The Vickie Smith Nursing Scholarships were awarded to Donnalyn Smith and Milon Outerbridge.

Ms Smith, who is due to start a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of West England in Bristol, said: “This scholarship helps me a whole lot.

“My parents are very hardworking; I see how hard they have to work for me.

“I would do anything to help. I want to give back whatever I can, to ease the load.”

Ms Smith said she became interested in a career as a nurse when she volunteered to work at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital to notch up community service hours while she was at middle school.

She added: “A friend had volunteered at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital as a teen volunteer and she persuaded me to go.

“I volunteered in the continuing care unit and from the first day, I loved it.

“We sat with elderly patients, those who could not speak, those with disabilities … We read to them, we watched movies together, we walked with them. I was so happy, making other people happy.

“I liked the personal connection that nurses have with their patients and I wanted to make it a career.

“I am interested in going into geriatrics, paediatrics or surgical, but that could change once I get more experience.” …

Published 5 September 2019

Hopkins deal ‘a dream come true’

From The Royal Gazette: Stroke patients will have access to “the best possible chance at full recovery”, thanks to a link-up between the Bermuda Hospitals Board and Johns Hopkins Medicine.

The move, welcomed as a “dream come true” by campaigners, will see a primary stroke centre established in Bermuda, with accreditation for acute stroke care in place by 2021.

The clinical affiliation with the Maryland-based medical institute will also include improvements in psychiatric care, a continuing medical education programme for physicians in Bermuda and a residency programme.

Michael Richmond, Chief of Staff at the BHB, told a press conference: “Stroke treatment and rehabilitation is a key focus. We have four to five stroke cases come to the hospital per week.

“We want to ensure we are giving every stroke patient the best possible chance at full recovery, and also identifying people at risk even earlier to try and prevent one altogether.

“We are also looking at psychiatry for opportunities to improve and find more effective ways to structure and deliver our services.”

Dr Richmond said the aim was to provide treatment that matches “the best of the best”…

Published 8 May 2019

Balitian-Dill obtains right to write prescriptions

From Bernews: Bermuda Hospitals Board [BHB] Nurse Practitioner Myrian Balitian-Dill is one of only a handful of registered nurses who have attained nurse practitioner designation in Bermuda, and she is now the first to be granted authority to write prescriptions locally.

A BHB spokesperson said, “Mrs Balitian-Dill received the news from the Bermuda Pharmacy Council on 31 August 2018. Mrs Balitian-Dill is the only nurse practitioner at BHB. On obtaining her qualification she moved into a nurse practitioner role in the hospital’s Cardiology Department.

“In November 2016 she transitioned to help set up a new service at BHB, the Patient-Centred Medical Home. The small dynamic team of this service also includes a physician medical director, a staff nurse and an office administrator.

“The setting provided the ideal environment for Mrs Balitian-Dill to be afforded the right to prescribe as Bermuda legislation dictates that prescribing rights can be granted to nurse practitioners “under the authority of a medical practitioner”.

“The new development is the result of several years of collaboration to ensure all the necessary regulatory documents were in place. Mrs Balitian-Dill is pleased with the move and sees it as a starting point and an important way to help reduce health care costs…

Read the full article at www.bernews.com

Pair bloom on learning programme

From The Royal Gazette: Danielle Gibbons and Chevon Burrows have grown since they were taken on at an island florist.

The two landed jobs at Demco last year as part of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute’s learning disability programme and both said work had helped them become more independent.

Ms Gibbons said: “It motivates me. It gives me more confidence. It gives me more wisdom.”

The 27-year-old from Southampton, added that the job had changed her.

She said: “Instead of bringing me down when I come to work, it lifts me up, it gives me more strength. I’m progressing and getting better. I just feel an improvement in my life.”

And Mr Burrows, 30, added: “It makes me feel happy and independent. And I can save up my money.”

Ms Gibbons and Mr Burrows are two of four programme participants who started working with Demco in June last year…

Read the full article at www.royalgazette.com

Doctor returns from hurricane relief work

From The Royal Gazette: A Bermudian doctor described the devastation in the Caribbean island of Dominica yesterday after it was hammered by Hurricane Maria.

Roslyn Bascombe-Adams, sent to the island as part of a Pan American Health Organisation aid mission, said: “Every Dominican that I came in contact with had been impacted by the storm. Those who had not lost their roofs had been flooded.”

Dr Bascombe-Adams, deputy chief of the emergency department and hyperbaric services at Bermuda Hospitals Board, was called up for aid duty last month and at first thought she was headed for the British Virgin Islands badly damaged by Hurricane Irma. She and the PAHO team were in Barbados when Category 5 Maria hit Dominica and they were taken by Barbados Coast Guard boat in a 14-hour journey to the stricken island instead…

Read the full article at www.royalgazette.com

Student saves feathers for sensory tools

From The Royal Gazette: A summer student at the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute has created sensory tools for people with learning difficulties using colourful feathers salvaged from this year’s carnival outfits.

Tatiana King has been interning at the institute for six weeks and one project was to design and help build the tools — feathered bird and butterfly figures, both with moveable wings.

According to occupational therapist Shari Scott, many people with mental illnesses or learning difficulties are “sensory seeking”.

When Ms King was accepted into the internship, Ms Scott immediately told her of the plan to provide sensory stimulation tools to numerous clients in residential homes across the island…

Read the full article at www.royalgazette.com

KEMH’s Schultz to be honoured

Edward Schultz, Chief of Emergency Services and Hyperbaric Medicine

From The Royal Gazette: The Chief of Emergency Services and Hyperbaric Medicine at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital will be recognised by the Bermuda Health Foundation this month.

Edward Schultz, who has worked at the hospital since 1988, will be honoured at the organisation’s 15th Annual Salute to Service Award Luncheon on June 30.

The BHF noted in a statement that Dr Schultz was the attending emergency physician at Mt Sinai Medical Centre of Greater Miami in Florida before moving to Bermuda.

Read the full article at www.royalgazette.com