LUCEA, Hanover — Stacy Ann Allen Brown, a registered nurse at the Noel Holmes Hospital who helped Hanover’s first recorded COVID-19 patient come to grips with being infected, was among 20 health-care workers honoured during this year’s Heroes’ Awards and Flag Raising Ceremony.

“It was frightening, it was scary,” she said of her first brush with the deadly disease. “But we remained calm throughout and we tried to help her through it. She was… positive and did not know what to expect. So we had to talk with her and help her transition through the process while she was there with us at the Hanover Health Services.”

Brown was responding to questions from the Jamaica Observer during an interview with the media during the ceremony on Thursday.

National Heroes’ Day will be observed on Monday, October 18, which has been designated a no-movement day as a means of containing the spread of the novel coronavirus. As a result, as done in some other parishes, this year’s ceremony was held on Thursday. This took the form of an abbreviated ceremony shortly before the scheduled start of the regular monthly general meeting of the Hanover Municipal Corporation. It was hosted by the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission (JCDC) in collaboration with the municipal corporation.

During the hour-long ceremony, 13 health-care workers from the Hanover Health Services — which includes the Noel Holmes Hospital and the Hanover Health Department — were recognised for their outstanding work during the novel coronavirus pandemic. The remaining seven are from the Hanover Infirmary.

Later in the day, during the monthly general meeting, mayor of Lucea Sheridan Samuels apologised to the parish’s fire department for not including the emergency medical services arm of the Jamaica Fire Brigade, which also plays an important role in the health sector.

In accepting her award, former director of nursing services Jillian Mason Quarrie who is now the deputy chief nursing officer in the ministry of health and wellness said the most rewarding thing for her and the team she once led in Hanover is the professional service given to patients who have recovered and are back home with their families.

“It means a lot to us to be acknowledged. It is not easy work, and it takes a lot of courage to come out, get up every day, dress up, show up, and give of your best,” said Mason Quarrie.

Also among those who received awards are Dr Kaushal Singh, medical officer of health for the Hanover Health Department, and Dr Patrice Monthrope, senior medical officer for Noel Holmes Hospital.

Dr Monthrope noted that despite the ongoing hard work put in during the pandemic, the awards came as a surprise. He said the team appreciates and will be motivated by the recognition.

This year’s ceremony was held under the theme ‘Saluting Our Heroes… Safeguarding Our Legacy’.