CANA honors outstanding nurses, provides nursing scholarships

Retired, Guyanese-born, Registered Nurse Margaret Clara Burke receives CANA Lifetime Achievement Award, flanked by, left to right, CANA President-Elect Dr. Olga Husbands; Mistress of Ceremonies Dr. Jean Leon; Retired Registered Nurse Celia Bramble; incumbent CANA President Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne; and Burke’s niece, Heather Mitchell, with bouquet of flowers.
Photo by Nelson A. King

The New York-based Caribbean-American Nurses Association (CANA) on Sunday, Aug. 3, honored three outstanding nurses and provided scholarships to a nurse and an aspiring one during its Annual Scholarships and Leadership Awards Gala at Russo’s on the Bay on Cross Bay Boulevard in the Howard Beach section of Queens.

CANA bestowed its Lifetime Achievement Award on retired Guyanese-born Registered Nurse Margaret Clara Burke and presented Leadership Awards to Guyanese-born Registered Nurse Dr. Launette Woolforde, deputy chief nursing officer at Northwell Health; and Registered Nurse Dr. Natalia Cineas, a Haitian-American senior vice president, chief nursing executive, and co-chair, Equity and Access Council, NYC Health + Hospitals.

Guyanese-born Seanetta Reddock, a “dedicated and accomplished healthcare professional” with over 19 years of experience in radiologic technology and a growing career in nursing, right, receives the Monica Puckerin Scholarship Award from Dr. Cicely Wilkinson.
Guyanese-born Seanetta Reddock, a “dedicated and accomplished healthcare professional” with over 19 years of experience in radiologic technology and a growing career in nursing, right, receives the Monica Puckerin Scholarship Award from Dr. Cicely Wilkinson. Photo by Nelson A. King

Guyanese-born Seanetta Reddock, a “dedicated and accomplished healthcare professional” with over 19 years of experience in radiologic technology and a growing career in nursing, received the Monica Puckerin Scholarship Award, CANA said.

It said the scholarship was named in honor of Barbadian-born Registered Nurse Monica Sealy Puckerin, the 10th president of the Barbados Nurses Association of America, Inc. (BNAA), and one of CANA’s founding members and past presidents.   

Dr. Marlene Lofters-Dinham, second from left, presents the Lena Osborne Wynter Scholarship Award to Dominican Republic-born Edward Alonzo, who is currently pursuing a nursing degree at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, flanked by Wynter's daughters, Lori-Ann Wynter, left, and Diana Wynter, right.
Dr. Marlene Lofters-Dinham, second from left, presents the Lena Osborne Wynter Scholarship Award to Dominican Republic-born Edward Alonzo, who is currently pursuing a nursing degree at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, flanked by Wynter’s daughters, Lori-Ann Wynter, left, and Diana Wynter, right. Photo by Nelson A. King

Dominican Republic-born Edward Alonzo, pursuing a nursing degree at Brooklyn’s Medgar Evers College, City University of New York, received the Lena Osborne Wynter Scholarship award.

CANA said the award was named in honor of Lena Osborne Wynter, who “enjoyed a broad and interesting career” as a health care professional in her native Jamaica and New York.

It said Wynter served as a psychiatric nurse, psychoanalyst, and psychiatric consultant in both private and public health care settings, including the New York City Department of Mental Health, the New York State Department of Social Services, the New York State Department of Mental Health, and the South Beach Psychiatric Center.

CANA said, while Wynter spent most of her career as a psychoanalyst, she considered herself “first and foremost a nurse.”

CANA said Wynter participated in several nursing organizations, including the American Nurses Association, the International Council of Nurses, the Jamaica Nurses Group of New York, Inc. (founding member), and the Caribbean American Nurses Association (founding member).

Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne, CANA’s president and a Guyanese native, addresses the gala.
Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne, CANA’s president and a Guyanese native, addresses the gala.Photo by Nelson A. King

Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne, a Guyanese native and CANA’s president, said the organization’s mission is “to contribute to the improvement of standards of practice nationally and internationally by promoting research, education, training, scholarships, and mentorship.”

“This event today reflects our mission, along with the contributions of our nurses and nurse leaders to our communities at large,” she said. “CANA, therefore, takes pride in honoring these three outstanding nurse leaders.

“I strongly believe, as nurse leaders, what we do can and will impact the future and nursing careers for so many,” Osborne added. “Every choice we make has a consequence that can uplift and be a beacon of hope for our future nurse leaders across the Caribbean Diaspora and beyond.”

She said the gala was “a culmination of hard work and dedication by members of the planning committee and the executive,” extending “heartfelt thanks and gratitude for their tremendous effort and support in this venture.”

Registered Nurse Claudette Powell, CANA PRO, third from left, presents Leadership Award to Guyanese-born Registered Nurse Dr. Launette Woolforde, second from left, flanked by incumbent CANA President Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne, left, and Mistress of Ceremonies Dr. Jean Leon, right.
Registered Nurse Claudette Powell, CANA PRO, third from left, presents Leadership Award to Guyanese-born Registered Nurse Dr. Launette Woolforde, second from left, flanked by incumbent CANA President Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne, left, and Mistress of Ceremonies Dr. Jean Leon, right.Photo by Nelson A. King

Osborne said CANA membership comprises nurses from several Caribbean countries, including Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.

She said nurses of Caribbean heritage are also members. CANA has a chapter that serves the Bronx, Manhattan, and Westchester and is affiliated with the Caribbean Nurses Organization (CNO), which participates in a biennial conference in the Caribbean.

Burke, 95, thanked CANA for the honor, stating that she joined the nursing group in her early 40s.

“I am thankful that I still have my mental faculties together,” she told the ceremony. “I thank God for keeping me thus far, and I know that He still has much more for me to do in this lifetime.

“Because He lives, I can face tomorrow,” added Burke, singing the song with that title, as effervescent patrons chimed in.

Retired Registered Nurse and CANA Trustee Celia Bramble, a Vincentian native, introduced Burke and described her as “a true pillar of the community.

“She has had an illustrious career for over 70 years,” said Bramble, a retired colonel in the US Army Reserve. She has demonstrated both spiritual and professional leadership for over 70 years.

“Even at her 90-plus years young, Ms. Burke continues to inspire us,” she added.

Dr. Woolforde, who is also an assistant professor at the Donald & Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell, thanked CANA and those who have supported her over the years for the honor.

“This award means a lot to me,” she said. “True leadership needs bravery. I want all of you to know my commitment to leadership is never unending.”

Gail Haynes, second from left, receives Leadership Award on behalf of Registered Nurse Dr. Natalia Cineas, flanked by, left to right: Registered Nurse Helene Cauvin, who read Dr. Cineas's bio; CANA President Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne; and Mistress of Ceremonies Dr. Jean Leon.
Gail Haynes, second from left, receives Leadership Award on behalf of Registered Nurse Dr. Natalia Cineas, flanked by, left to right: Registered Nurse Helene Cauvin, who read Dr. Cineas’s bio; CANA President Registered Nurse Barbara Osborne; and Mistress of Ceremonies Dr. Jean Leon. Photo by Nelson A. King

Gail Haynes read a message from Dr. Cineas, who could not attend the event.

“As a child of Haitian immigrants, I feel very privileged,” Dr. Cineas said. “NYC Health + Hospitals is very committed to providing quality healthcare.

“I’m very appreciative of this great honor from CANA,” she added.

Registered Nurse Dr. Catherine Alicia Georges, a St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands-born professor and chairperson emerita of the Department of Nursing at Lehman College and professor at Meharry Medical College, delivered the keynote address on “The Power of Nursing.”

Dr. Georges, a Bronx resident, is a leader in academic nursing, health policy development, community engagement, organizational development, and healthy aging.

Vincentian CANA President-Elect Dr. Olga Husbands, who will be inaugurated on Sept. 21, 2025, in a church ceremony, delivered the Vote of Thanks, expressing gratitude to patrons, sponsors, supporters, and CANA members for making the event possible.