The Health Authority of Anguilla (HAA) held its 4th Annual Recognition and Awards Ceremony on Saturday, December 15, at the Anguilla Great House to honour a number of employees for their dedicated service and for going beyond the call of duty.

The Award Winning Housekeeping Team of the Year

The first honourees were four retired workers: Susan Rogers, Maria Walters, Ezra Connor and Rita Harrigan. They were thanked “for their tenacity and the sacrifices they made over the years to ensure that they served their clients with love and dedication.”

L-R: Denise Romney, Enna Gumbs and Dr. Banks

Three other workers were awarded for excelling in medium and short-term courses attended by a total of 174 employees during the year. Those who achieved the highest grades and received recognition were Wilton Farara who was trained in Sanitation, Safety and First Aid; Jilma Hodge who did the course in Pathways to Legendary Customer Care and Florence Hodge whose training was in Events Planning and Management. In addition to the certificates they were awarded, each of them received US$100 compliments of Lake’s World.

Wilton Farara and Florence Harrigan with Awards

Two honourees “who worked tirelessly as a team to assist the Health Authority to maintain timely, accurate information and other related documentation” were Denise Romney and Enna Gumbs.

One of the tables

The Team of the Year Award went to the Housekeeping Staff. The criteria for selection included team spirit, commitment to the department’s goals, overall achievement of the department’s objectives and problem-solving.
The Employee of The Year was the quiet and unassuming Wilton Farara “who, over the years, with the ever-increasing number of patients at the hospital, has always been responsive to doctors’ requests and patients’ needs with dependable efficiency.”

The awards were presented by Dr. O. M. Linda Banks, Deputy Chairperson of the HAA Board of Directors, assisted by Carol Hall and McMillian Thomas.

Health Authority Officials and others

Just before the distribution of awards, Health Planner, Lynrod Brooks, spoke on behalf of Minister of Social Development, Evans Rogers. He commended the workers for their excellence and for going beyond the call of duty. He said that while there were many areas in which the Health Authority needed to show improvement, the organisation was able to achieve accreditation as a result of the dedication of employees to improve the quality of the service they were providing.

Presentation to Susan Rogers

Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Franklin Lloyd, said: “I would like to express the Board’s deep appreciation for the valuable service of the Health Authority’s workers throughout the year. The ultimate objective is to have a healthier Anguilla. In order to achieve this, we must combine a variety of activities into a consistent and coordinated strategy.” In so saying he emphasised the need for team work among the various workers and departments.

Dr. Lloyd said that, “in the final analysis a healthier Anguilla could only be achieved by health care workers and the public working in partnership with zeal and commitment as a team united in heart and purpose.”

Employee of the Year, Mr. Farara

Acting Chief Executive Officer of the Health Authority, Meridith Gumbs, spoke on the theme of the ceremony: “Working together for a healthy Anguilla.” She said team spirit was pivotal to the success of any organisation. It must strive in every department to reach managers, supervisors and individual employees. It must also strive among members of the Board of Directors and of its various committees and affiliated groups. Team spirit is a critical component in our efforts and commitment to working together for a healthy Anguilla.”

Mrs. Gumbs called for the pooling of collective efforts and resources towards the continued advancement of the Health Authority as the first choice for health care through dedication and excellence.

“This is one of our principal goals and therefore failure must not be in our periscope,” she went on. “As a growing organisation, still in its embryonic stage, we cannot afford not to succeed. We have been entrusted with too serious a responsibility – the health of the people of our beloved country to permit failure. Because we accept nothing short of success, I beseech you that we all embark on a trajectory of working together if our ultimate goal is a healthy Anguilla.”

Others who spoke at the ceremony, included Clavis Carter-Gumbs, Human Resources Officer who chaired the proceedings, and Erdelle Fleming who gave the Vote of Thanks.

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