Jamaica Nurses Group Of New York Hailed For Six Decades Of Service

As the Jamaica Nurses Group of New York (JNGNY) celebrates 60 years, the organisation is being hailed for its outstanding legacy of positively impacting healthcare in New York, Jamaica and the wider diaspora.

Jamaica’s Ambassador to the United States, Her Excellency Audrey Marks, in paying tribute to the group, said that “from as far back as the Crimean war, when Mary Jane Seacole established the ‘British Hotel’ behind the lines, giving help to those in need,

Jamaican nurses have migrated to the UK, Canada and the United States, offering their skills as healthcare providers.

“Having traditionally migrated for the purpose of earning a better living to take care of their children and family back home, the hard work and dedication for which Jamaican nurses have become known have often propelled them to become a mainstay of the healthcare system in the countries where they have gone, acquiring a well-earned reputation for their high quality of service delivery,” she noted.

Ambassador Marks said that in their more than 60 years of caring, the JNGNY had blazed a trail of excellence in nursing service in the State of New York. This area boasts the highest population of Jamaicans in the US and for which they have commanded significant recognition.

“For that, we all, as Jamaicans, are especially proud and congratulate the group for their altruistic endeavours over the years, and as the oldest Caribbean nursing organisation in the US has been tirelessly providing services in New York and Jamaica, attaining recognition, respect and visibility,” she noted further.

Northeast Global Diaspora representative, Dr Karen Dunkley, congratulated the JNGNY on its outstanding legacy of positively impacting healthcare in Jamaica and the broader diaspora.

“We especially salute the presidency of Dr Claudette McFarquhar, [who] continues to implement a robust vision of improving Jamaica’s healthcare equity, access and options, and the unwavering commitment of the JNGNY to the diaspora’s collaborative efforts to reignite Jamaica’s greatness,” Dr Dunkley said.

President of the organisation, Dr Claudette V. McFarquhar, paid tribute to the JNGNY’s founder and first president, the late Ivy Albarus.