Newman

The Jamaica Association of Nurse Anaesthetists takes this medium to extend their esteemed appreciation to an outstanding colleague.

Nureilda Ernandez Newman, daughter of Lester and Maud Ernandez of the parish of St Catherine. You were called to service shortly after you graduated from Cathedral High School, Spanish Town, when you started visiting the office of your uncle, the late Dr C. H. Tomlinson, and was moved with compassion when you accompanied him to see patients in the hills and valleys of rural Manchester.

From this experience you were motivated into entering the Kingston Public Hospital School of Nursing where you graduated as a registered nurse in 1945, and from the Victoria Jubilee Hospital as a registered midwife in 1948.

In 1949, you married Walser Keith Newman, and successfully combined the business of bringing up a family of three boys with the job of nursing. Your service has taken you to Falmouth, Port Antonio and Spanish Town hospitals.

In 1952, under the guidance of Dr Phillip Feaney, you started giving anaesthetics. You were further encouraged by Dr Leo Freeman who recognised the need to train nurses in this specialised field to meet the needs for better patient care. He recognised in Nureilda Ernandez the potential for development and was instrumental in getting the Ministry of Health to offer you a fellowship to pursue a course for nurse anaesthetists at the Women's Medical Hospital affiliated with the University of Pennsylvania in 1955.

toiled unflinchingly

You toiled unflinchingly with little monetary reward, except for the satisfaction you obtained in knowing that you were appreciated by the patients you cared for so much. It was only in 1961 after much petitioning that you were promoted to the rank of sister, in the Spanish Town Hospital, and often times you served beyond the call of duty.

In 1965, after 23 years, and with pressing family commitments, you retired from the government service, but you still continued to maintain your interest in nursing.

Nurse Nureilda Ernandez, we commend you for your foresight in the field of nurse anaesthesia in Jamaica, and the contribution you have made has set the stage for the development of a programme, which will have far-reaching effects on the improvement of the health-care service in Jamaica. Our sincere congratulations are extended to you, and our best wishes to you and your family. Within you moves a spirit of dedication similar to that which motivated Florence Nightingale. May the fire which you have kindled in the field of anaesthetics continue to burn as a beacon giving inspiration to all those who practise as nurse anaesthetists in Jamaica.