The 30-year-old Caribbean American Nurses Association/Bronx Manhattan Westchester Chapter (CANA/BMW) is appealing to nurses to join the Bronx-based organization.
“We encourage nurses of Caribbean descent to join this organization to make it stronger and more efficient,” Recording Secretary, Jamaican-born Registered Nurse Elaine Mills-Ford told Caribbean Life on Sunday.
She said CANA/BMW chapter was founded in 1994 in memory of a Barbadian-born registered nurse Vernese Weeks who died in same year.
“For her dedication and outstanding service to others, she demonstrated a great love, and passion for the nursing profession during her nursing career,” said Mills-Ford, stating that the chapter was formed by a group of nurses to include the concentration of professional nurses of Caribbean descent in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester counties.
“The founding members envisioned the need to build a strong organization and to become more aware of healthcare legislation, health risks, and the needs of our communities,” she added. “They also looked at ways to address the serious shortage of professional nurses in the United States and the Caribbean, and to create ways to renew interest in this rewarding profession.”
Mills-Ford said CANA/BMW’s mission is “to secure grants from state, local government, or the private sector to move” the organization “forward in health, education, domestic violence, and violence against children, and the elderly.”
Over the years, she said CANA/BMW has conducted, among other things, medical missions to Caribbean countries; aided natural disaster relief in the Caribbean; dispatched much-needed medical supplies; participated in legislation to improve healthcare; conducted and participated in symposiums and health education; and offered 30 scholarships to undergraduate nursing students who have met certain criteria.
Mills-Ford said CANA/BMW has conducted “several successful medical missions” to Guyana, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
“We have fostered an environment where nurses here and in the Caribbean countries are more aware of improvements in best practices in nursing care,” she said.
“CANA/BMW, with the assistance of sponsors and fundraising, has continued to assist in training new nurses to replenish the current stock shortage of registered nurses for personal and professional advancement,” Mills-Ford added. “At CANA/BMW we are proud to recognize the achievement of one of our scholarship recipients, who has attained a Ph. D in Nursing Education.”
Mills-Ford said the organization has raised funds primarily through the annual Vernese Weeks Scholarship luncheon, sponsorship contributions and from ads bought in the annual luncheon journal.
The next annual scholarship luncheon will be held, on Oct. 12, 2024, at the Eastwood Manor in the Bronx.
Since its formation, Mills-Ford said CANA/BMW has elected 10 presidents.
Correspondence can be mailed to: CANA/BMW, P.O. Box 379, Williamsbridge Station, Bronx, New York 10467-0379; or visit the website at https://cana-bmw.com
