For Jervine Richards, being crowned the 2026 LASCO Chin Foundation and Nurses Association of Jamaica (NAJ) National Nurse of the Year is more than a personal achievement, it is an opportunity to use her new platform to promote wellness, prevention and early detection among young Jamaicans.
Miss Richards, a registered nurse and midwife at Percy Junor Hospital in Spaldings, Clarendon, wants to take the message of healthy living beyond hospital walls and into communities, particularly among adolescents and young adults.
At the centre of her vision is GLOW (Growing, Living, Owning, Wellness), a project she hopes will empower young people to understand their health, identify risks early and make healthier choices before preventable illnesses become diagnoses.
“It is a project that I hope will help to promote health, empower Jamaican adolescents and young adults to understand their health, identify their risk from very early and make healthier choices,” she tells JIS News.
Richards Implements Growing, Living, Owning, Wellness Project
Although GLOW is still in its early stages, Miss Richards already has a clear vision for the initiative, which she hopes will include a wellness expo taking participants through different aspects of maintaining good health.
One component will focus on helping young people to “know their numbers”, including blood pressure, body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference, while another will expose participants to practical nutrition information, such as the amount of sugar in commonly consumed foods and healthier ways of preparing meals.
She also plans to incorporate physical activity into the programme through activities such as Zumba, demonstrating that exercise can be enjoyable and easily incorporated into everyday life.
Ms. Richards says the ultimate objective is prevention, particularly as chronic diseases and obesity among Jamaica’s younger population continue to concern her. By giving young people practical information and tools, she hopes they will become more conscious of their health and make positive decisions before illness takes hold.
She believes her role as Nurse of the Year gives her an even greater opportunity to promote health throughout the island.
During her year in office, she will participate in health fairs and other NAJ activities, work alongside the other finalists on projects, engage nurses across Jamaica and support community initiatives.
Richards to Collaborates with Corporate Partners
She also intends to continue her work as a Kiwanian and collaborate with the LASCO Chin Foundation on outreach activities and visits.
“It’s about empowerment, it’s about self-fulfilment, it’s about new experiences, it’s about growth, and I’m just fully embracing it,” she says.
For Ms. Richards, the crown is, therefore, not simply a symbol of professional recognition but a responsibility to use her visibility to encourage healthier communities and strengthen the connection between nurses and the people they serve.
Her commitment to wellness is also informed by her understanding of the demands placed on healthcare workers.
Ms. Richards says the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) has demonstrated a strong commitment to the well-being of its employees, including opportunities for staff to participate in activities that promote rest, relaxation and camaraderie.
She describes Percy Junor Hospital as a close-knit institution where staff are treated as members of a family and where efforts are made to support the “holistic” individual.
“We work in a very demanding profession as healthcare workers,” she says, noting that staff need adequate opportunities for rest and relaxation.
She credits the institution with supporting her participation in the Nurse of the Year competition, including allowing her the necessary time and providing encouragement and assistance with her preparation. She says the support of colleagues who had previously participated in the competition also helped her to prepare for the challenge.
Ms. Richards’ journey to the national title began several years before she entered the competition. While a student nurse, she participated in the Nursing Student of the Year competition in 2016 and 2017, finishing as second runner-up in 2017. Last year, while sitting in the audience at the awards ceremony, she watched her Deputy Director of Nursing Services being crowned Nurse of the Year.
Richards Gets Early 30th Birthday Gift
As she approached her 30th birthday, Ms. Richards decided to place entering the competition on her personal bucket list.
Despite her preparation, she did not expect to win. She gained some confidence after being announced as the winner in the public-speaking segment, believing that the result would strengthen her chances in the overall competition.
When the final announcement was made, she was overwhelmed by the result. “I think I was in shock for a moment,” she recalls, explaining that the moment was so hazy that she had to rewatch videos of the presentation to fully appreciate what had happened.
The awards ceremony, held on July 24, 2026, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel in New Kingston, formed part of the NAJ’s 80th anniversary celebrations, under the theme ‘Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives’.
Other Winners
Ms. Richards emerged as the national winner, while Michelle Hales Thompson of Percy Junor Hospital and Juline Souden of the University Hospital of the West Indies made history by sharing the Second Runner-Up position in the first tie in the programme’s history.
Ms. Richards’ victory has also extended the remarkable run of the SRHA, which has dominated the National Nurse of the Year competition for the past three years.
According to Regional Director, SRHA, Michael Bent, the region has consistently produced top-performing nurses, with its facilities securing multiple positions among the finalists and winners.
He pointed to the region’s recent record, including a year when nurses from Black River and Mandeville captured the top-three positions, followed by Percy Junor’s victory the following year and Ms. Richards’ national triumph this year.
Mr. Bent says the sustained success is not accidental but reflects the SRHA’s deliberate investment in coaching, training and creating an environment in which healthcare workers can maximise their potential.
The Regional Director congratulates Miss Richards and the other successful nurses, declaring that the SRHA continues to uphold its core values of compassion, accountability, respect and efficiency.
For Ms. Richards, nursing itself is a profession grounded in compassion, resilience and purpose. She says she did not grow up dreaming of becoming a nurse but eventually came to see the profession as her calling. Having entered the profession in January 2019, she has learned that nursing requires practitioners to bring their best selves to work every day, even when faced with difficult circumstances.
“It is a profession that requires a lot of heart,” she says, stressing that compassion can remain with patients long after a nurse has completed an interaction with them. She acknowledges that nursing school cannot prepare practitioners for every situation they will encounter and says nurses must intentionally decide each day to provide the best care possible, regardless of their own personal challenges.
Raised in Frankfield, Clarendon, Miss Richards attended Frankfield Primary School before moving on to Knox College after passing the GSAT examination. She later began her nursing studies at The University of the West Indies before transferring to Knox Community College to complete her training.
Today, her work at Percy Junor Hospital includes responsibilities in the female surgical unit and maternity ward, experiences that have strengthened her appreciation of the varied needs of patients and the importance of holistic care.
Those experiences have also reinforced her belief that healthcare should not begin only after someone becomes sick. Through education, early screening, nutrition and physical activity, she believes people can be empowered to take greater control of their health.
Miss Richards is grateful to the people and institutions that supported her journey, including her mother, father, sister, friends, colleagues, Percy Junor Hospital, the SRHA and the Nurses Association of Jamaica.
She says their encouragement helped to give her the confidence to enter the competition and pursue the opportunity. Now, she intends to repay that support by making the most of her year as Nurse of the Year.
Her message to other nurses is equally straightforward: take the chance, prepare and participate. She says the competition provides nurses with an opportunity to grow, gain new experiences and feel appreciated for their contribution to healthcare.
Most importantly, Miss Richards hopes her own experience will inspire other nurses to recognise their potential and become empowered to make a difference.
As she begins her tenure, Miss Richards is determined that her crown will have a purpose beyond the ceremony.
Through GLOW, health fairs, community outreach and her continued engagement with nurses across Jamaica, she wants to turn recognition into action and professional achievement into public service.
(JIS)