CLAUDETTE Codner and Ellen Saunders-Hussey were recently awarded at King’s House for long and dedicated service to St Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, where they have worked for decades preparing healthy meals for the hundreds of patients who pass through the facility each year.

For the women it is not just a recognition of the time they spend preparing these meals, but a celebration of the love they have for their job.

Saunders-Hussey and Codner have been working at the hospital for 27 and 28 years respectively.

“I enjoy it; I enjoy working here more than anywhere else,” said Codner, who will retire in a few years.

A resident of Gibraltar, in the parish, Codner said she loves serving the patients.

“We call the patients our tourists,” Codner jokingly told the Jamaica Observer North East.

She explained that it is always a pleasure being able to do something to help in the recovery process of patients at the health facility.

Codner and Saunders-Hussey work closely with a dietician to prepare meals for patients with various health conditions.

“I am enjoying it,” Saunders-Hussey said, adding that although she does not interact directly with the patients, she enjoys serving them by preparing their meals.

The women, who are also mothers, said their jobs have provided them with the financial resources necessary to care for their families.

Hussey, who is from Chester in St Ann, said although she is no “doctor or teacher” she managed to raise three children who have excelled.

While it is usually the doctors and nurses who attend directly to patients, the women believe the staff of the dietary department plays an important role in the care of patients at the facility.

According to Codner, their roles in the kitchen are very important as patients have to be properly fed.

“It is very important because you can’t take medication without food,” she explained.

Hussey added, “They have to get it (the meal) on time.”

Their supervisors plan the menu and as members of the kitchen staff they follow guidelines in preparing the meals.

“It is also very important because you have some special diets that they would not normally prepare at home,” Codner said, explaining that many persons eat the proper food when they are hospitalised and are usually encouraged to continue the pattern when they return home.

As the women near retirement, they say they have no regrets acrring out the jobs that they have been doing all these years.

“I have no regrets. We make our work fun,” Saunders-Hussey said.

“I will always give thanks to the St Ann’s Bay Hospital; anywhere I reach in life St Ann’s Bay Hospital do that for me,” Codner said.

She pointed out that if she had a choice she would still choose to work at the hospital.

According to Saunders-Hussey, she started at the hospital as an attendant, but was transferred to the kitchen staff. Codner explained that she started out relieving someone on leave in the dietary department of the hospital. When the person returned she was sent to work in another department; however, she was soon transferred back to the kitchen.

“I have been there since,” she said.

The women explained that they were so enthused about their jobs that they used to show up for work at 5:30 am to begin their 6:00 am shift.

“It was fun to come to work in the morning,” Saunders-Hussey added.

Saunders-Hussey said the kitchen staff had to be on time and well groomed as the chief executive officer was a very disciplined person.

They take great pride in what they do and still ensure they are well groomed for the job as they take care of their “tourists”.

The women said they intend to continue giving of their best at the jobs until they retire.