By Nelson A. King
The Caribbean health community
in New York is mourning
the passing of the prominent
diabetic director at Brooklyn’s
sprawling Kings County Hospital,
who died on June 13 at Weill
Cornell / Presbyterian Hospital,
68th Street and York Avenue,
Manhattan.
Vincentian-born Nurse Practitioner,
Suzette Williams succumbed
to complications of
leukemia, according to her sisters,
Registered Nurse Ludis
Williams-Mitchell and Josette
Williams, a public school teacher
in Brooklyn. Williams was 57.
Trinidadian Kisha L. Carrington,
a family nurse practitioner
and president of the
Brooklyn-based Caribbean
Diabetes Initiative, Inc. (CDI),
quoted Williams’s often-spoken
words: “’My goal is to continue
education/treating patients/clients
in the Caribbean Diaspora,
reaching one patient at a time
for better health outcomes.”
“God spread his wings and
took our dearest friend, sister,
aunt, daughter and colleague,
Suzette Williams. Suzette was a
force to be reckoned with,” Carrington
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Caribbean L 20 ife, June 26-July 2, 2020
told Caribbean Life over
the weekend about Williams, a
former member of her organization.
“She was one of the most
compassionate, resourceful,
intentional women to touch the
lives of all of us.
“You could not be anything
less than successful, after God,
with her on your team,” she
added. “She was a producer. The
full impact of her loss cannot
even be understood at this time.
“She had worked tirelessly
in everything she has put her
hands on, including the Caribbean
Diabetes Initiative, Inc.
and all of its ventures,” Carrington
continued. “She left her
footprint on the lives of everyone
she touched and on my heart.
She will be forever missed.”
Ashaki Nehisi, CDI events
coordinator, described Williams
was “a force”, stating that they
“bonded over our commitment
to the work.”
“I truly felt she was my person
at CDI,” Nehisi said. “The loss of
such a firecracker personality,
a woman with such generosity
and warmth, is felt by us all. She
is so missed, but never forgotten.
We were all so lucky to have
her on our team while she was
here. And I’m grateful to have
known her.”
Jamaican dietician Laura
Dunkley, a CDI volunteer, said
she was profoundly shocked on
hearing about Williams’ death.
“Wow! I don’t know what
else to say except that I am in
shock,” she said. “We will never
fill her shoes in Caribbean Diabetes
Initiative, Inc. or at Kings
County. She will be missed, her
dedication, faith, humor, storytelling
and that laugh.”
Yvette Davson, another CDI
volunteer and Guyanese-born
public health educator, said Williams
was “a wonderful and caring
person. She will be missed
by all.”
Belizean Vanessa Young, of
the Belize Diabetes Association
New York (BDANY), said she
was “so saddened to hear about
Suzette’s transition from this
earth.”
Young said she had met Williams
at Kings County Hospital
while working on a Performance
Improvement project for
The late Vincentian-born Nurse Practitioner, Suzette Williams.
Josette Williams
a week.
“If not for Suzette, the BDANY
/ CDI collaboration would never
have happened,” she said. “She
will be missed greatly, but the
memories we created with her
will last forever.”
Trinidadian Dr. Jean Leon,
a former executive director of
Kings County Hospital and CDI
member, said she was “impressed
with her (Williams’) dedication
to patients and her disciplined
work ethics.”
Caribbean health community mourns
loss of Kings County diabetic director
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