Remembering the Past… Celebrating the Present!
The Story of 5 Nurses; Then and Now
A highlight of honoring our past is a recognition of 5 nursing staff employees that hold the record
for years of service. They comprise a combined total of 110 years of service and were an integral
part of the transition from the Baptist Home to The Cliffs. We share their story with you here; as
told to us by Indi, Usha, Nazlea.
“It was old fashioned as compared to today; fewer regulation and restrictions.” said Indi.
“Marge Kolk was our boss and she was a good one. She kept everything in very good order. Marge
and Frank Kolk were fair, honest, and kind-hearted toward their employees. Some of us were
Muslim and Hindu, and they treated us all the same. We were a team without any differences!”
In those days, Indi continued, Marge made the time schedules for the nurses and other employees.
Marge would make the schedule on a chart with the name, time and dates in pencil. Marge would
put an / in the box meaning you were to come to work on that date, at that time. When you got
to work you placed the \ over her mark, thus making an “X”. That meant you were there…on
time….doing your job. She did this for the kitchen, housekeepers, dietician, and the nursing staff.
Her method worked fine without computers and without time clocks. “Those were good memories,
We all watched out for one another; we were all very close.”
After Frank retired as Administrator of The Baptist Home, his son David took over. Again,
there was the same feeling of family.
When we moved to The Cliffs in 2005, it was a sad occasion because The Baptist Home had
been our employer for so many years. Many of the other employees did not choose to come to
The Cliffs; it was hard to leave them behind After a time however, we became accustomed to The
Cliffs and realized the work was the same; we were just working with new people. With time, we
adjusted and even learned to use computerized time cards.
When asked how they got their start in nursing, they replied that it began by taking card of
their own elderly grandparents in their native countries before coming to America. It was a natural
transition for them to seek employment in the field of nursing. The Cliffs is blessed to have these
loyal and skilled employees who care for the residents as if they were family too.
The years of employment are as follows:
Baptist Hire Date Baptist Home
The Cliffs
Total years employed
Nazlea Jainarine
07/15/1981
24 years
10 years
34 years in total
Annie Blue
03/20/1982
23 years
10 years
33 years in total
Usha Dias
12/1/1999
6 years
8 years
14 years in total
Indi Hemnarine
06/1/1998
7 years
10 years
17 years in total
Aziman Harilal
06/19/2003
2 years
10 years
12 years in total
