On Friday Settlers Public Hospital held a farewell tea for senior nursing services manager Irene Solomon, who took early retirement last month. Solomon has been at Settlers since 1979 and served as senior nursing services manager from 1991. She begins her new job as night matron at Settlers Private Hospital today.
On Friday Settlers Public Hospital held a farewell tea for senior nursing services manager Irene Solomon, who took early retirement last month. Solomon has been at Settlers since 1979 and served as senior nursing services manager from 1991. She begins her new job as night matron at Settlers Private Hospital today.
More than 50 hospital employees attended the tea to say farewell to their friend and colleague. Addressing the guests, hospital manager Bongiwe Moyake said: “If it was up to me, I’d declare today a non-working say. But service delivery must come first.” No doubt Solomon would agree.
“She always sacrificed her time and never took time off,” said hospital board member Nozipho Mpahlwa, adding that those staying at Settlers should follow in Solomon’s dedicated footsteps. “You could call upon her at any given time and she would always be willing to help,” she said.
Nursing representative Zola Vena agreed with Mpahlwa, saying: “She always led by example. She always went the extra mile.” Vena added that although Solomon had her own way of doing things, she was always willing to engage in dialogue. “I’ve learnt a lot from Irene,” she said. Vena will fill the senior nursing services manager position until the hospital makes an official appointment.
Allied Health Professionals representative Doug Scott credited Solomon with pointing Settlers in the right direction during difficult times. “She was always part of the solution and never the problem,” he said. “Her open door policy made her easy to work with,” he added. “She always pulled the best from you.”
Bringing the morning’s celebration to an end, Moyake said Solomon served her time at the hospital with honour, courage and tenacity. “She has become an asset to this institution,” she said. Addressing Solomon, Moyake said, “We will miss your sense of humour, your ability not to lose your cool in difficult situations and your open heart.”
Solomon (58) had always intended to retire at 55 but decided to stay until the completion of Settlers Private Hospital. “I had to stay because I was a member of a group of people who had a common desire to see transformation in health services delivery,” she said, addressing her guests. “Today transformation has happened.”
Concluding her speech, Solomon encouraged the hospital employees to maintain a high standard of service at the hospital. “We’ve got these beautiful changes at the hospital so we must keep it beautiful,” she said. “Keep it up and keep going. The people we serve really appreciate what we’re doing.”
