BENGALURU: A nurse who worked in Uttaranchal during the 2013 floods and another who treated HIV patients in spite of the stigma against them are among the awardees of Florence Nightingale awards conferred on Saturday.
The awards were conferred at Raj Bhavan by Governor Vajubhai Vala. As every year, 10 nurses and two nursing students were honoured.
Swamy H N, staff nurse at Government General Hospital, Channapatna in Ramanagara district, was part of a team from Karnataka deployed at Uttaranchal when the state was hit by floods in 2013. “About 80 per cent of the state was underwater and about 2 lakh people lost their lives as per official reports while the real number might be more. It was a challenging place to work at,” Swamy said. Swamy was part of a 15-member team sent from here comprising nurses, doctors and police officers.
Malatesh J, a staff nurse at District Hospital and KIMS, Koppal, received the award for taking up several medical initiatives across Koppal. He has worked in biomedical waste management, infection control and family planning. “I especially helped HIV positive patients as there is a social stigma against them,” said Malatesh, who has been working as a nurse for the past 25 years.
Two students — Renu Maharjan who topped BSc in nursing in the state and Hanamant Vaddar, who secured the first rank in general nursing and midwifery at BLDEAS School of Nursing, Bijapur — were also conferred the award.