BY MAHADEV DESAI
Atlanta, GA: Georgia Indian Nurses Association (GINA) celebrated Nurses’ Day with a glitzy dinner and fun-filled entertainment on May 9, 2015 at St. Thomas Orthodox Church, Lilburn. The well attended program started with a prayer led by Father Mathew Elayadathamadam, followed by his greetings for all nurses who were present in the meeting. He emphasized in his speech that nursing is a call and thanked nurses for their contributions to individuals and the community. Young and vibrant nurses Jennie Mathen and Deepthy Varghese emceed the program with great verve and enthusiasm and kept the crowd engaged and entertained..
The event commenced with the lighting of the lamp by Fr. Mathew, chief guests Mary Zellinger and Dr. Sudha Tata the president of GAPI (Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian heritage), GINA president Lilly Anickat and the executive committee members of GINA.
Sini Anoop and Seena Kudilil sang the Indian national anthem and Jasmine Anickat sang the USnational anthem. Lilly Anickat welcomed everyone and addressed the nurses. In her talk, she stressed the importance of teamwork for advancing GINA to the next level. She thanked the founder and former president Mary Jose and her team for their outstanding work and achievements during the past two years. She recognized nurses for their contributions to GINA and the nursing profession, and expressed her gratitude for being part of the “most trusted profession”.
The founder and former president of GINA, Mary Jose introduced the chief guest Mary zellinger APRN, CCNS, CNS cardiovascular critical care unit at Emory university hospital. Mary Zellinger’s compelling presentation on the theme of this year’s nurses week “Ethical Practice: Quality Care” was very informative and interesting not only to nurses but also to their family and friends who were part of the audience. She emphasized the importance of effective communication for patient safety. She also talked about the importance of continuing education of nurses to improve performance and competency as the health care field is constantly advancing. She encouraged nurses to stay updated in their knowledge and skills with the latest information and research -findings to achieve high quality patient outcomes.
Shirley Parayil, GINA’s advisory board member and cultural/social committee chair, invited nurses one-by-one to the stage, and Fr. Mathew and the chief guest Mary Zellenger recognized each nurse for their services by giving roses. Everyone enjoyed the slide show with GINA nurses’ old and new nursing pictures and the funny video presentation prepared by Shirley. GINA’s education committee-chair Vidya Kanagaraj and co-chair Mini Jacob recognized nurses by presenting Certificates to those who had made professional advancements and achievements. Mrs. Mary Jose was bestowed with the “GINA Nurse of the Year” award for her excellent contributions to her patients and their families, community, and nursing profession.
Mother’s Day was also celebrated during this event by honoring all mothers who were present. Everyone enjoyed the scintillating mother-daughter dances performed by Seena Kudilil and her daughter Abigail Kudilil; and Seema Jijo and her daughter Simlin. Jasmine Anickat sang a beautiful song dedicating it to all mothers and nurses. Justin Moonjeli and Suja Moonjeli surprised everyone by entertaining the audience with a Malayalam song. The crowd also much enjoyed Meena Joseph’s Hindi song.
SAI Health Fair’s well-known founder Dr. Sujatha Reddy congratulated all the nurses for their dedication and hard work. She quoted, “No doctor without nurses” and stated that doctors highly value the work of nurses.
Augusty Abraham, GINA’s Advisory Board member, in his felicitation, congratulated GINA for its remarkable achievements in such a short period, and encouraged more nurses to join GINA. Grand Canyon University (GCU) representative Ricardo Contreras congratulated nurses who had achieved their degrees, recognized them with gifts from GCU, and promised its support for nurses who pursue higher education. Jecy Mathew, the secretary of GINA, moved a vote of thanks. The celebration ended with a delicious dinner.
GINA was founded in 2013, to empower Indian nurses to strive for more than just average and reach their highest potential in their professional practice. GINA is for all Georgianurses and nursing students of Indian origin/heritage that creates a community of excellence in nursing practice not only in the healthcare industry but in the community at large. At present it has about 150 members. Please visit www.GINA.Org