In anticipation of our Fall Health + Wellness issue, we put out a call to the public asking the question “Who is Bermuda’s 2020 health hero?”. With over 1,600 votes, the answer was clear: Biomedical researcher Dr Carika Weldon! Dr Weldon was celebrated in our Fall issue and we presented her with a check for $500.00. With that all said and done, there were other hard working top contenders with touching stories who garnered hundreds of votes and who we think deserve a big shout out. Here are Bermuda’s top 5 health hero runner-up’s:
Name: Dr. Yusef Morant- Wade
Title: Obstetrician and Gynecologist, Physician and Surgeon, MD, FACOG
Place of work: Contemporary OB-GYN Ltd.
Dr. Yusef Morant-Wade MD, FACOG is a Board-Certified Physician and Surgeon specializing in the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology. After completing his undergraduate degree at McMasters University in Canada, he continued with post graduate studies elsewhere before gaining his Doctor of Medicine from Meharry Medical College, Nashville, Tennessee. Dr. Yusef Morant-Wade credits his career choice to his interest in caring for women during their reproductive years through to their senior years. He explained, “With most other medical specialties, the relationship ends as you finish a surgical procedure or a treatment for an illness. However, with Obstetrics and Gynecology you establish a life journey with your patient. Presiding over the birthing of a newborn with the wonder of uniqueness of each new life, is a professional privilege like none other”. One of his patients added “He made a stressful pregnancy comfortable, right through to the delivery of my son. He was attentive, informative, supportive and overall a wonderful person.”
Name: Fitzgerald Richardson, “Fitzy”
Title: Nursing Assistant
Place of Work: KEMH
(Credit: Royal Gazette)
Fitzgerald Richardson found his passion for nursing while looking after an inmate with HIV at Westgate Prison. After his release he earned his qualifications to become a Nursing Assistant from Bermuda College. His newfound path in the medical industry has led him to KEMH where he has been working for the last 3 years, and continues to, often arriving early to his shift or staying late to help others. Fitzy is described by others as “a first-class, exceptional caregiver” who “is most caring, kind and takes time with his patents”.
Name: Whitney Matthew
Title: Registered Nurse BSN, RN
Place of Work: Department of Health – Child Health
Whitney Matthew has been a Registered Nurse for 8 years and is currently pursuing her Masters in Gerontology with a concentration in Aging and Management. She obtained her Bachelors of Science in Nursing from Hampton University in Virginia, USA and stayed abroad to work at Warwick Forest Rehabilitation Center before returning home to work on Ace Barber (surgical unit) of KEMH. At present, she is with the Child Health Department as a School Nurse. She is “dedicated to her career” and known by others as “pleasant and personable, and always giving valuable advice”. Once, the pandemic reached Bermuda, she adapted her role and became an educational health resource for people of all age groups in various settings. She was stationed first at the COVD19 Call Center, then with the COVID 19 testing team at the Department of Health and eventually moved to testing visitors and returning residents. She stated that, “Just like other avenues of nursing it is demanding work -when even one person turns around and says, ‘thank you’ it gives you the energy to keep going”.
Name: Tanya Harvey
Title: Registered Nurse
Place of Work: Home Care Department of KEMH
Tanya Harvey has dedicated 30 years to the Bermuda Hospitals Board, 18 of those being with the Home Care Department of KEMH as a nurse where she is “always known to go over and beyond in her call of duty”. After graduating from the Bermuda Institute, she gained her qualifications from Mountainside Hospital School of Nursing in Montclair, New Jersey. Upon returning back home to Bermuda, her nursing career began on Curtis Ward from 1990 to 2002 before transferring to her current position at the Home Care Department of KEMH. During the uncertain times of an ongoing pandemic, Harvey believes, “everyone in the Medical field and others outside of this realm serving are also considered Heroes. Adopting a new paradigm can be stressful but working together to keep each other safe can make this journey a little easier”.
Name: Diane Moore
Title: Registered Nurse, PGcert
Place of Work: Department of Health, part time at Home Health Ltd
Diane Moore works closely with clients and families in the community to provide direct patient care as a Community Health District Nurse and Home Infusion Therapy Nurse. She graduated as a Registered Nurse from the South West Manchester College of Nursing and obtained her Post Graduate Certificate in Wound Healing and tissue repair from Cardiff University. Her work includes; teaching patients to care for themselves, educating family members about how they can care for their loved one, administering intravenous therapy treatments, and offering emotional support during these stressful times. Despite being exposed to COVID-19 environments, she continues to provide essential care and was readily available 24/7 during the islands shelter in place period. In addition, Moore was also FIT testing first responders for N95 respiratory masks, carrying out surveillance and monitoring of high risk Covid-19 patients. As well as, educating, supporting and discharging clients from quarantine facilities. Diane is characterised as an “amazing healthcare worker who takes excellent care of every single client she has and takes pride in helping her community.”
