A Heartfelt Breakfast Honors Healthcare Heroes

Nurses are the unsung heroes of our healthcare system, tirelessly working weekends and holidays to care for the nation’s sick. Their dedication often goes unnoticed, and it’s not uncommon for them to skip meals to attend to their patients. During Nurses Week, the Fort George Hotel and the Belize Bank took a moment to honor these hardworking professionals by hosting a special breakfast at the K.H.M.H Kitchen. This gesture acknowledges the incredible efforts of the hospital’s nurses throughout the year. News Five’s Marion Ali was there to capture the event and share the story.

 

Marion Ali, Reporting

In a refreshing change of pace, nurses at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital began their day with a nutritious breakfast. These dedicated healthcare providers, who tirelessly advocate for their patients’ well-being, often skip their own morning meals due to the demands of their job. Today, however, they took a moment to practice what they preach, fueling up with healthy food to better serve their community.

 

Kereen Birch, Nursing Supervisor, K.H.M.H.

“Eating is important, but we find out that we do it afterwards because we are focusing on the person that’s in front of us that needs the care. Many nurses come to work and they have not yet eaten, and so they go straight into work and sometimes they don’t eat until lunchtime. So we thought that this would be a nice start to the day and offer some healthy food.”

 

In a touching gesture of gratitude, Fort George Hotel and Belize Bank teamed up to provide a healthy breakfast for the hardworking nurses at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Hotel staff were on hand at the hospital’s dining area, serving up nutritious meals to say “thank you” for the sacrifices these nurses make daily. The event saw over a hundred nurses from various units and departments come together, enjoying a moment of appreciation. Shauna Arnold, Marketing Executive at Fort George Hotel and Spa, expressed the hotel’s commitment to honoring the dedication of these healthcare heroes.

 

Shauna Arnold, Marketing Executive, Fort George Hotel and Spa

“The Fort George partnered with the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital to kind of step away from our normal everyday activities to really honor and appreciate nurses and all the commitment that nurses have made to the hospitals, to our communities, to clinics, all of that, and to offer them this special breakfast. Through the work of the Human Resource Department here. I think they really brought us together. They wanted to offer something special to nurses, and with the quality of breakfast that we offer, I think it was a great opportunity for us to really showcase and really give back and share. The nurses, I think have made tremendous sacrifices for with their lives, but also for the community as well. I mean, whether it’s in time of crisis or just that steady everyday rhythm of helping other people and giving back. I think it is, it is time or it is due that we give something back to them, and I think it is only fitting. Some of them work long hours, or a lot of them work long hours. I think it was only fitting that we then offer them breakfast.”

 

Nursing Supervisor Kareen Birch at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital reveals that appreciation for nurses isn’t limited to Nurses Week. Birch shared that these healthcare heroes receive thanks in various forms throughout the year, whether it comes from within the institution or from everyday people. This ongoing recognition highlights the community’s deep respect and gratitude for the nurses’ unwavering dedication and hard work.

 

Kareen Birch

“Our efforts are always appreciated and recognized. Maybe not to the degree that some people expect, but there’s always some form of appreciation being offered, maybe not from the organization. Sometimes it’s just a patient that comes in. Sometimes it’s someone that you’re walking on the street might say a kind word. So appreciation is always shown just that it showed at different levels in different degrees.”

 

Breakfast is just the beginning of celebrations at Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital for Nurses Week. Sharine Reyes, the hospital’s Financial Controller, unveiled a packed agenda filled with various activities to honor the nurses’ hard work and dedication. From wellness events to fun gatherings, K.H.M.H. is making sure their nurses feel appreciated and celebrated throughout the week.

 

Sharine Reyes, Financial Controller, K.H.M.H.

“It’s a full week of events. This evening we’re taking part in the float with the nursing council, and tomorrow we have our sporting day. So it’s a full week of event that the nurse have lined up. They have a committee that they put everything together. And due to the fact that we don’t have the finance to be able to do all of this for them, some of our sponsors stepped in. Yesterday we had a appreciation ceremony that all of them, well, all the units took part in and I think they’re, they’re really feeling the appreciation. Our nurses do do a lot of hard work. They’re here 24-7, sometimes their shortages and they take cover.”

 

The nurses will test their fitness capabilities during a day of sports on Thursday. Marion Ali for News Five.