ST. KITTS AND NEVIS’ NURSES COMMENDED IN THE FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 ON INTERNATIONAL NURSES DAY

Basseterre, St. Kitts, May 11, 2021 (SKNIS): St. Kitts and Nevis’ nurses play a critical role in the fight against Covid-19 and were commended by the Minister of Health, Hon. Akilah Byron-Nisbett, in an address on May 10, 2021, to commemorate International Nurses Day, which is celebrated on May 12 annually.  
 
“Even nurses who were not directly treating Covid-19 patients risk burnout and exposure to the virus each shift as they provided routine treatment or even just a comforting presence to their patients,” said Minister Byron-Nisbett.
 
The Minister of Health continued her address by praising the work that nurses all across the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis do to ensure that there is no disruption to the nation’s healthcare system and the services being provided to citizens and residents.  
 
Further, Minister Byron-Nisbett called on all nurses to take up the mantle in advocating and encouraging members of society to take part in the ongoing nationwide vaccination drive. The Government of St. Kitts and Nevis has secured enough doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in order to vaccinate the entire adult population at the earliest possible time.
 
“The Ministry of Health is encouraging all nurses to join the Covid-19 vaccination campaign and to protect themselves, their patients and clients, their institutions, and communities from the Coronavirus. Advocacy is a critical component of leadership. Therefore, we expect our nurses as the largest components of the health sector and other health care workers and professionals to lead the way with their voice to promote vaccine administration and mitigate against vaccine hesitancy and secure the future of our health care system,” said the Minister of Health.
 
In collaboration with the International Council of Nurses (ICN), the Ministry of Health has coordinated a week of activities that will celebrate nurses, while also sensitizing and educating members of society on a number of health-related issues.
 
The week of activities will commence on Monday, 10^th May with a Church service at the New Testament Church of God on Central Street, Basseterre at 7:30 p.m. and conclude on Saturday, 15^th May with a health walk and breakfast beginning at the Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw International Airport along the Kim Collins Highway and ending in Frigate Bay