MINSK, 28 May (BelTA) – Chief nurse of the National Center of Rehabilitation and Balneology Galina Kulagina has been awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal. The award ceremony took place during the opening of the Mission Humanitarianism exhibition in the National Art Museum of Belarus on 27 May, BelTA has learned.
Galina Kulagina graduated from a nursing school in 1972. She started out in a TB hospital and was later transferred to a military hospital. She held various nursing roles and worked in various practice settings throughout 50 years of her nursing career.
“This medal is bestowed only on very distinguished people. Only 12 professionals in Belarus have received it so far. Galina Kulagina has fully deserved it. It is important that we have people who do their thing instead of looking for someone to do this for them. The medal is in the right hands. We really appreciate Galina Kulagina's work,” Belarus' First Deputy Healthcare Minister Dmitry Pinevich said as he presented the medal.
The Florence Nightingale Medal is the highest international distinction a nurse can achieve. It is awarded every two years to a maximum number of fifty recipients worldwide. The medal is composed of gold and silver-gilt and bears a portrait of Florence Nightingale surrounded by the words 'Ad memoriam Florence Nightingale 1820-1910'. On the reverse, the name of the recipient and the date of the award are engraved, surrounded by the inscription 'Pro vera misericordia et cara humanitate perennis dйcor universalis' ('true and loving humanitarianism - a lasting general propriety').
During the ceremony, commendation letters were presented to distinguished nurses of the Belarusian Red Cross Society by Healthcare Minister Valery Malashko and Deputy Labor and Social Security Minister Aleksandr Rumak.
Taking part in the event were also Secretary General of the Belarusian Red Cross Society Olga Mychko, Director General of the National Art Museum Vladimir Prokoptsov, Information Minister Aleksandr Karlyukevich, Head of the Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross Djordje Drndarski, Chairman of the Education, Culture and Science Commission of the House of Representatives Igor Marzalyuk.
The Mission Humanitarianism exhibition in the National Art Museum will stay open till 9 June. The exposition is timed to the 55th anniversary of the Red Cross nursing service and International Nurses Day.
