Retired Healthcare Professionals Reflect on Lifelong Service to Alexandria Hospital

The lives of two retired healthcare professionals who devoted their careers to Alexandria Community Hospital in St. Ann stand as enduring testaments to the profound impact workers have on their communities.

Though separated by generations, Aylete Brown-Hull and Blanche Williams-Lowers are united by a shared legacy of unwavering commitment to Jamaica’s health sector.

Together, their careers span more than seven decades—bearing witness to the evolution of healthcare delivery from the 1950s to the modern era.

Mrs. Brown-Hull began her remarkable journey at Alexandria Hospital on November 2, 1977, and served until her retirement on January 31, 2018.

Her career spanned multiple roles that reflected, not only her personal growth, but also the evolving landscape of Jamaica’s healthcare system.

“I started as a registered general nurse in 1977 then I had my training as a registered midwife… we were called specialist nurses. I did administration and worked as the matron in charge of the facility. Then I did the nurse practitioner programme and worked as a family nurse practitioner from 2002 until my retirement,” Mrs. Brown-Hull tells JIS News.

As a family nurse practitioner, she played a pivotal role in ensuring patients received comprehensive evaluations, accurate diagnoses and effective treatments, often managing cases requiring referrals and investigations and taking on duties similar to those of a general medical practitioner.

Mrs. Brown-Hull’s dedication to her community becomes especially evident when she reflects on the opportunities she chose not to pursue.

During the early years of her career when many healthcare professionals were emigrating to seek better opportunities abroad, particularly in the United States, she made the conscious decision to remain in Jamaica to serve her community.

Mrs. Brown-Hull viewed her role, not just as a job, but a calling to meet the healthcare needs of the people in and around Alexandria.

“When I looked at the needs of the community, I saw that somebody had to stay… so I stayed,” she tells JIS News.

When Mrs. Brown-Hull first joined, Alexandria Hospital was a full-service general institution—offering maternity care, surgical wards for both men and women, private rooms, X-ray and laboratory services, a blood bank, and a fully equipped operating theatre.

However, the institution was subsequently downgraded to a community hospital and later reclassified as a primary care facility, intended to provide affordable, accessible, and available healthcare to the surrounding areas.

Despite these changes, Mrs. Brown-Hull remained steadfast in her belief that Alexandria Hospital would one day reclaim its stature, and expressed optimism about the institution’s upgrading.

The most recent milestone was a $212 million renovation under the Smart Health Initiative, which revitalised key sections of the facility—including the maternity ward, health records department, waiting areas, administrative block, and trauma centre.

Additional improvements to the electrical systems, generators, perimeter fencing, and medical waste storage have further modernised the hospital.

Future plans include further renovations to the curative block, expansion of maternal and child health services, and infrastructure upgrades.

“Patients come from all over because this [hospital] serves 38,000 people from this community (Alexandria) as well as other communities such as Prickly Pole, Borobridge, Muirhouse, Bohemia, Clarksonville, Bethany, Lime Tree Gardens, and Grants Mountain. So, now with the infrastructure development, it will be a better hospital. Plus they’re adding more doctors to the [complement] so more patients can be seen,” Mrs. Brown-Hull says.

She also praises the notable improvements in dental services, pharmacy operations and maternity care—all of which signal a renewed commitment to delivering high-quality, patient-centered healthcare.

For Mrs. Brown-Hull, the emphasis on prevention remains central to Alexandria Community Hospital’s mission.

She believes that early diagnosis and treatment of chronic illnesses can significantly reduce the risk of more severe health complications.

Mrs. Williams-Lowers began her service at Alexandria Hospital in 1953. Her tenure spanned over three decades, ending in 1985 when the hospital’s reclassification led to her redundancy.

Though she chose not to return, she speaks with deep affection about her time there—declaring Alexandria Hospital as “the best of the best.”

Beginning her career as a female orderly, Mrs. Williams-Lowers worked in various areas, including the hospital’s wash house, lavatories, wards, nurses’ home, and doctors’ quarters.

Her responsibilities were wide-ranging, encompassing cleaning and patient care to food service, and eventually cooking in the hospital’s kitchen.

“I was a good worker, [and] it was joyful,” Mrs. Williams-Lowers shares with JIS News.

Though her time at the hospital ended decades ago, she still regards it as a vital institution.

Mrs. Williams-Lowers recalls that during her tenure, Alexandria Community Hospital attracted patients from across St. Ann and even Trelawny—a testament to the exceptional care that set it apart.

Decades later, her connection remains deeply personal: she has attended the hospital’s clinic for over 12 years, relying on its services not only as a former staff member but as a patient who continues to trust its care.

Mrs. Williams-Lowers commends the hospital’s current Administration for its commitment to expanding the services and improving the infrastructure, pointing out that “we get the best primary healthcare treatment here.”