From Sebastian R. Freiku
The Seventh Day Adventist Nursing and Midwifery Training School at Kwadaso in Kumasi has marked its 10th anniversary with a call on nurses to keep the spirit of compassionate nursing alive by extolling the qualities of kindness, compassion, gentle and firm strength which serve as a beacon of hope for the sick.
Mrs. Abigail Kyei, a health and management consultant, giving the keynote address to climax the anniversary, noted that once a nurse, always a nurse, hence the need for nurses to keep the lamp of nursing brighter. The theme for the anniversary was: “Rekindling the Spirit of Nursing and Midwifery practice: the contribution of Adventist Education over the decade.”
Mrs. Kyei, who is also a lecturer of the Pentecost University College in Accra, noted that it was a visionary step when the SDA Church established the Kwadaso Nursing and Midwifery School 10 years ago to educate and raise nurses and midwives to serve the country.
She said with the establishment of the school, which she described as a visionary nursing institution, the Ghanaian community was looking for, not only nurses and midwives who will come out and emulate Florence Nightingale, but also a calibre of nurses who will add onto the Nightingale example, and give a brighter light in health delivery in the face of challenges.
The Health Consultant urged both practising and student nurses to take advantage of the opportunities created by the SDA Church to rekindle the spirit of nursing wherever duty calls. The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr. Peter Anarfi-Mensah, appealed to nurses to rededicate themselves to the efficient delivery of health care and work towards saving lives.
He commended the SDA Church for the tremendous contributions in the areas of education in the basic, second cycle and tertiary, as well as health, by establishing hospitals, clinics and health facilities around the country.
He commended the stakeholders in for the establishment of the Kwadaso SDA College, stressing that good health is a pre-requisite for the sustainable growth of every nation.
According to him, quality of health delivery, which plays a vital role in the existence of mankind, depends on the available human resources.
The Minister observed that development is a shared responsibility, hence the need for the public-private partnership policy introduced by the government.
The Principal of the School, Mr. Daniel Atta-Tuffuor, explained that the establishment of the school in 2005, was in view of the need to produce nurses and midwives for the church’s own hospitals and clinics, and thus augment the human resource needs of the Ministry of Health, in particular reference to nurses and midwives, as well as create employment avenues for the youth.
He said the school has produced 1,214 nurses and midwives over the past seven years, and that it had enrolled 402 students out of 1,591 applicants who applied for admission this year. The new entrants to be trained as nurses and midwives include 235 females and 98 males.
He thanked KATH and all hospitals in the Ashanti Region for providing clinical sites for students during practical clinical attachment.
Principal Atta-Tuffuor announced that the school is currently developing a new site christened Baryland at Barekese, where the construction of a six-classroom block, two ground floors of a three storey hostel, kitchen and roads under the first phase are being constructed at GH¢30 million to ensure effective and efficient teaching and learning.
He said the school, which is a government-assisted one, would need GH¢10 million to complete the new site over the next five years. The Principal expressed appreciation to the government for the donation of a Nissan Navara pick up to the school, and appealed for it to consider modalities to make health training institutions benefit from the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) for infrastructural development.
According to the Principal, the school is currently faced with inadequate space for a library, skills acquisition and computer laboratories, as well as inadequate permanent student hostel and staff accommodation, and teaching and learning materials.
He, therefore, called on the government, the church, parents, philanthropists and the general public to come to the aid of the school to develop its new site, to enable it train disciplined and quality nurses and midwives towards the nation’s health development.