International Nurses Day - a Special Occasion at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem)

International Nurses Day will be celebrated by multiple generations at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) as retired nurses who are now residents of the not-for-profit aged care home celebrate their careers of caring alongside current nursing staff.

Amongst those who will be reminiscing with a celebratory morning tea is retired nurse and current Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) resident Vera Clare, who also qualified as a midwife and worked in her home state of Queensland for many years, as well as Tasmania, Perth, New South Wales and Papua New Guinea.

The day is also being hailed as a time to celebrate kindness and care at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem), as residents are given the opportunity to thank the nurses who care around the clock for seniors at the not-for-profit home.

“The nurses here, and indeed all of the staff, are just wonderful,” says 89-year old Vera, who was born in Mareeba and spent four years training as a nurse at the local hospital, before embarking on her 40-year nursing career.

“I very much enjoyed nursing and I absolutely loved midwifery, it’s a wonderful career to have and there is so much variety these days and so many areas to specialise in that I would recommend it to any young people considering it as their career path today.”

International Nurses’ Day is an annual celebration of nursing held across the globe on 12 May - Florence Nightingale’s birthday - which pays tribute to the nursing profession and the magnificent contribution of nurses worldwide.

The team of Registered and Enrolled Nurses at Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) range in age from their early 20s to mid-50s, meaning they have countless decades of nursing experience between them which ensures residents like Vera are in particularly safe hands.

Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) Service Manager, Zubair Coovadia, said International Nurses’ Day provided an important opportunity to celebrate nursing as a profession, and that residents were particularly keen to acknowledge the care they received from nursing staff on the day itself.

“The focus of nursing is first and foremost on care and it’s appropriate that on International Nurses’ Day we focus attention on our amazing nursing staff, recognise their achievements and also acknowledge the work they do,” says Mr Coovadia.

“We are also keen to throw the spotlight on residents like Vera, who would have made a huge difference to people’s lives throughout her nursing career, especially as a result of the two voluntary stints she spent in Papua New Guinea where she was attached to the Catholic mission.

“Moreover, Mercy Health is very fortunate to have a dedicated team of nurses throughout our nursing homes, and Florence Nightingale’s birthday is the perfect time to reflect on and celebrate the valuable contribution they make to the residents who choose to live with us.”

The day of celebrations will also see Mercy Place Cairns (Bethlehem) nurses and residents take a trip down memory lane, when both current and retired nurses swap stories from their careers.