Yahneake Sterling, Staff Reporter
Students of the Kingston School of Nursing demonstrate to visitors at the Bellevue Hospital in Kingston, last week, how to test for breast cancer, the proper way to put on a condom, and how various parts of the body function, during activities to mark Open Day at the hospital. - IAN ALLEN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
A BREEZY, welcoming atmosphere is the first thing that you experience when you enter the 65-acre Bellevue Hospital compound on Windward Road, Kingston. The friendly workers come next.
Described by many as the 'forgotten institution', the staff at the hospital see it as a little village of patients and caregivers.
Founded 145 years ago, the hospital, which is known to most as simply Bellevue, is the largest mental institution in the English-speaking Caribbean. It is currently home to almost 900 patients, a significant decline from the 3,000 patients it had in the 1960s.
MORE REHABILITATION
The decline in the number of patients, according to Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Yvonne Miller, is due to the ability of the staff to rehabilitate and treat the illnesses that patients are admitted with.
These achievements are not the only things that make the institution stand out, but the dedicated staff who work hard to take care of patients.
Mrs. Miller, who has headed Bellevue for over 12 years, notes that patients are not only given medication to control their illnesses, but also a listening ear.
"Apart from regular treatment, patients will find someone who they are attracted to and can depend on for advice and help," she said. "They are assured of humane treatment, this is why they keep coming back even after they have been discharged."
The CEO told The Gleaner that the environment at the mental institution was a caring one where persons look out for each other and patients are exposed to the highest levels of psychiatric care. "We can be compared to any First World country with the cadre of highly trained staff," she boasted.
FULFILLING, YET FRUSTRATING
The ardent caregiver describes working at the institution as fulfilling, yet frustrating at times. "It is fulfilling in that I have been able to improve the living conditions of a number of persons who live here at Bellevue; frustrating in that I have not been able to do more," she pointed out.
Emphasis is not only placed on medicating patients, but also on teaching them skills.
There is a Rainbow Garden smack in the middle of the property. Like an oasis in the desert, the Rainbow Garden sets the mood of tranquility. The little square garden consists of a wide range of flowers including hibiscus, palms, cactus, roses, marigold and sunflowers, providing a shade for patients to relax.
Sonia Watson Brown, occupational therapy specialist at the institution, has been teaching patient skills for the past 38 years, four years less than her mother did.
