An exhibition that highlights the role Black nurses played in the island’s healthcare system is on show at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The Bermuda Hospitals Board said panels from the Department of Culture’s 2022 exhibit, Pioneers Who Persevered: Black Nurses in Segregated Bermuda, will be displayed until August 9.

Scott Pearman, the BHB president and chief executive, said: “We’re so pleased the Department of Culture has collaborated with us to show this exhibition again.”

Mr Pearman said the exhibition “highlights the significant role Black nurses played in healthcare on the island”.

He added: “It is of particular interest to our staff, and we are delighted to have all 11 panels on exhibit in the lobby of our Acute Care Wing.”

Mr Pearman said the BHB “is a diverse organisation within a multicultural community, and we are proud to share an important foundational note in BHB and Bermuda’s history”.

Owen Darrell, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport, added: “Culture does evolve but recognising our roots and paying tribute to the contributions of those who sacrificed and made it easier for us to access, pursue and achieve our interests in the healthcare field today is timeless and always worth celebrating.”

He said: “It is wonderful that Bermuda Hospitals Board is providing another opportunity for their staff and the general public to visit this exhibit again.”

Judy Richardson, the BHB’s chief of nursing, applauded “the efforts of all who created the original exhibition”.

She highlighted veteran journalist and principal researcher of the work Meredith Ebbin, who is also a nurse.

She added: “All our nurses, irrespective of their ethnicity, appreciate the historical importance of the exhibit.”

Visitors to the exhibition can use the QR code on the panels for additional stories, and sign the guestbook with their thoughts about the exhibit.