Adesh Anthony Ramdass’
Hulitt ‘Hope’ Scott
50 Caribbean Life, June 21-27, 2019 BQ
HEALTHCARE AWARDS
Joan Saint Fleur
As a community nurse, Haitianborn
Joan Saint Fleur believes
“it takes passion to have the very
best job in the world.”
She says she’s been rewarded and
“highly acknowledged” by the impact
she makes among her peers and in her
interactions with community members.
Ms. Saint Fleur says her career
began when she worked as a home
attendant and certified nursing assistant
at Grandale Nursing Home in
2003. Later, she worked as a Licensed
Practical Nurse at Western Suffolk
Boces.
She earned her Registered Nurse
degree at Helene Fuld College of Nursing
and a Bachelor’s of Science degree
in nursing from Chamberlain College
of Nursing in Chicago, Ill.
In more than 16 years, Saint Fleur
says she has worked in several areas
of nursing at skilled nursing facilities,
rehabilitation facilities, long-term
care facilities and managed long-term
care.
Currently, she provides comprehensive
care to patients in homes, shelters,
assisted living and nursing homes.
As the founder of Women Empower
Excellence (WEE FEMMES), Saint
Fleur says she not only wants to be an
advocate for her members in the community
but also wants to make a difference
in helping children and families
that are experiencing hardships.
“In order to shape a better future
for the next generation, we have to
start today,” she says, adding that,
with professional volunteers, sponsors
and staff members, she is “committed
to continue the process” in her community.
Saint Fleur, who works over 40
hours per week, says the best piece of
career advice she has ever received is
to “learn something new every day.”
Dr. Chanelle Small
Dr. Cascya Charlot is board certified
in Pediatric and Adult
Allergy and Immunology and
Internal Medicine. A graduate of Harvard
Medical School who went on
to complete a residency in Internal
Medicine at NYU Downtown Hospital
in New York City and a fellowship
in Allergy and Immunology at SUNY
Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn,
New York. She is fluent in Haitian
Creole, French and Spanish.
Dr. Charlot has held numerous
leadership roles and has made significant
contributions to the field of
medicine. From 2000 to 2001, she was
hired by the United Nations as a medical
consultant and stationed in Africa
where she advised on HIV/AIDS issues.
She was awarded the NYC Department
of Health Certificate of Excellence in
1999 for her work on welfare reform.
She currently lends her expertise as an
Allergy and Asthma specialist for NYC
Department of Education’s Project
E.R.A.S.E. (Eradicating Respiratory
Asthma in Schools to help children
Excel) targeting the growing asthma
crisis in NYC public schools.
She lectures regularly on several
allergic conditions including food
allergies, immunotherapy and asthma.
She also directed the Asthma Screening
program for the American College
of Allergy Asthma and Immunology in
Brooklyn for three consecutive years.
Dr. Charlot, now serves as the chief
of Pediatric Allergy and Immunology
at Methodist Hospital, Brooklyn. She
is the founder of the Allergy and Asthma
Care of Brooklyn Clinic where she
evaluates adult and pediatric patients.
She is a yearly Patient’s Choice Awardee.
She has been featured in the Daily
News, on the Martha Stewart Show .
Adesh Anthony Ramdass’ parents
migrated the family, which
included Ramdass’ sister, from
Trinidad & Tobago to New York in
search of better opportunities, and he
has truly made the most of them.
It wasn’t always easy, however. He
had a rough time when he began
high school, bullied by other boys, but
worked hard instead of giving up and
graduated at the top of his class, earning
the NY1 Scholar Athlete Award.
His perseverance can be attributed to
the foundation his parents provided
and the example they set.
His father and mother worked hard
while Ramdass attended college, the
former fixing and delivering appliances
and the latter working at the Aqueduct
Flea Market. Most importantly
says Ramdass, “My parents provided
me with priceless kindness, love, wisdom,
respect and camaraderie.” Fortified
by his family, at Stony Brook
University he studied medicine and
met the love of his life, whom he would
later marry.
The young couple went on together
to the Medical University of Americas
(MUA) in St. Kitts & Nevis due to its
inexpensive tuition. Ramdass’ then
fulfilled his residency in Internal Medicine
at the Icahn School of Medicine
at Queens Hospital Center, where he
felt at home due to the many Caribbean
patients.
He was made chief resident at Queens
Hospital and focused on improving
patient care and safety, knowing how
difficult it can be for immigrants to
receive proper care. After he fulfilled
his residency requirement, he was
hired as the associate program director
at Northwell Health-Mather, where
he performs rounds, provides direct
care and teaches residents — it is a job
that he loves. As he took advantage of
the opportunities offered to him in his
new homeland, he also heeded some
career advice he once received: “Never
give up. Take every obstacle as a stepping
stone to success.”
For more than 50 years, Jamaican
born, semi-retired Registered
Nurse Hulitt ‘Hope’ Scott
says she has provided nursing care “in
the spirit of Florence Nightingale.”
As a young woman growing up in
Jamaica, Scott says she earned a scholarship
to attend nursing school in the
United Kingdom.
After graduating, she says she
migrated to New York, where she
began her career as a registered nurse,
caring for the elderly and dying.
Ms. Scott says, while serving
patients with “grace and compassion,”
it’s normal to push heavy medication
carts and to listen to family members’
concerns.
Now at 77, Scott says she works
at an AHRC Day Habilitation Center
for developmentally disabled adults,
describing it as “one of my best jobs.”
AHRC provides person-centered
support to over 2,200 people throughout
Nassau and Suffolk counties in
Long Island.
Scott says AHRC partners with
Brookville Center for Children’s Services
and other organizations “to provide
services across a person’s lifetime.”
As a semi-retired employee, Hope
Scott says she puts in 15 hrs. per week
on the job.
She says the best piece of career
advice she has ever received is: “You
are an advocate for the population for
which you work for.”
Scott also says that, if she had one
superpower, she would “like to be able
to observe someone who has passed on
and see how they experience freedom,
peace and equality.”