Nurses of the IMS and SUM Hospital here played a vital role in the battle against Covid-19 after five Covid Hospitals were set up in collaboration with the Odisha government at different places, Ms. Saswati Das, Vice-President of Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) said on Friday.

The dedicated service of the nurses at a time when the pandemic had triggered panic situation had enabled thousands of patients to recover from the infection and return home, Ms. Das said while addressing a program at the IMS and SUM Hospital organised to mark the International Nurses Day.

The five Covid Hospitals had been set up in PPP mode with IMS and SUM Hospital taking care of the human resources.

Ms. Bharati Kar, former Principal of the IGH Nursing School at Rourkela, who attended the program as the Professional Expert, underlined the need for  advanced nursing education. Nurses needed advanced training and should have greater understanding to serve the patients better, she said.

The International Nurses Day is celebrated worldwide on May 12 to mark the birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale.

Prof. Pusparaj Samantasinhar, Medical Superintendent of IMS and SUM Hospital said the hospital had 1600 nurses who worked with dedication. They constituted the backbone of the hospital, he said.

The gathering was also addressed by Dr. Rajesh Lenka, hospital’s Additional Medical Superintendent and Ms. Minati Mishra, Nursing Superintendent. Senior Nursing Educator, Ms. Nibedita Rout elaborated on the theme of this year’s International Nurses Day while Deputy Nursing Superintendent Ms. Nirupama Dagar administered the Florence Nightingale oath to the nurses. Nursing Educator Ms. Renulata Das presented the annual report.

Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare) of SOA, Mr. Jugal Das, Chief Vigilance Officer and Director (Resources), Mr. Prahalad Mohanty, Officer on Special Duty, Mr. Priyabrata Das, Deputy Director and Ms. Kamalini Mallick, Deputy Nursing Superintendent were present on the occasion.

A separate program was organised at SUM Nursing College to mark the day where Prof. Amrita Lenka, Secretary of the Odisha branch of Society of Midwives India (SOMI) attended as the chief guest. Prof. Samantasinhar graced the occasion as guest of honour,

Prof. Pravati Tripathy, Dean, SUM Nursing College, Prof. Tapati Saha, Additional Dean and Prof. Sasmita Das, Associate Dean, were present. A newsletter of the institute was published on the occasion while four Auxiliary Nurse Midwives were felicitated.