More than 350 nurses at the Roberto Rodríguez Fernández General Teaching Hospital celebrate International Nursing Day on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic, Juan Carlos Villares Vázquez, director of that health institution, said.

The day is an expression of continuity and commitment to the work carried out, for more than a year, in the center for the care of suspected and confirmed patients with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Villares Vázquez stressed that more than 60 nurses have been directly linked to the fight against the new coronavirus in the isolation centers and the hospital in the municipality of Morón, although all of them have contributed to the fight against the disease.

“The role of nursing in health services is fundamental, both in normal and contingency times. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, our nurses have carried out extraordinary and sacrificial work that involves, in many cases, the separation of the family and exposure to risky situations to save lives inside and outside the national territory”, he emphasized.

The Public Health leader also highlighted that the participation of experienced nurses in the controlled intervention trial for risk personnel represents a guarantee for the rigorous compliance with the application techniques of the vaccine candidate Abdala, successfully supplied to more than 700 workers from the Morón`s hospital, during Monday and Tuesday of this week.

According to information on the official website of the Ministry of Public Health and referring to an intervention by Dr. José Ángel Portal Miranda, head of the sector in Cuba, “the work of the nursing staff, with their altruism, dedication and professionalism, has been a fundamental pillar for the success that has been achieved in Cuban public health.

"The essential functions of the nursing profession are the promotion of a safe environment, the defense of people, participation in health policy, management of patient care, health systems, research and training".

International Nursing Day is celebrated on May 12, in commemoration of the anniversary of the birth of Florence Nightingale, known as the lady with the lamp, founder of the nursing profession, with a high humanistic sense of love for neighbor, with revolutionary and salubrious conceptions that constituted the starting point for the development of health systems throughout the world.