A former chief executive of the Bermuda Hospitals Board was praised for implementing medical practices fit for the new millennium.

Sheila Manderson, who died on February 3 at the age of 85 just days after the passing of her husband, Neville, struck off many firsts when she entered the role in 1994.

She was the first Bermudian, the first Black person, the first woman and the first trained nurse to assume the position, which carried responsibility for the overall management of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and St Brendan’s, which was later renamed the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute.

Her loved ones remember her as a woman of faith who always put her family first.

During her tenure with the BHB, Mrs Manderson fulfilled a vision of creating a new wing at the hospital.

When she joined, there was a master plan to assess future space requirements and it was concluded that the operating suites needed to be replaced as a matter of urgency.

On the opening of the state-of-the-art operating theatres, Mrs Manderson said: “Today, the culmination of a multitude of people's efforts, is a range of new and enhanced surgical programmes which essentially raise the level of surgical care available to Bermudian residents.''

R. Scott Pearman, the chief executive and president of the BHB, extended his deepest sympathies to Mrs Manderson’s family.

He said: “On behalf of all of us at BHB, I am greatly saddened to hear about the passing of Sheila Manderson, a trailblazer throughout her career as a nurse and healthcare leader in the US.

“After her appointment was announced, but before she started in her role, she was interviewed for the 100 Years of Care book by J. Randolf Williams.

“When asked about where she saw the hospitals in five years’ time, she answered that she had ‘every intention of making it a class act’ and she most certainly did that.

“Passionate about quality of care and putting patients at the heart of how healthcare services worked, she also worked to develop and encourage staff.

“She oversaw the construction and opening in 1998 of a new surgical wing that housed new operating theatres and an endoscopic suite.

“While these transferred to the new Acute Care Wing 20 years later, the laboratory, mammography and ultrasound services are still in that part of the hospital as is the hyperbaric chamber, which was a new service for the island at the time.

“A new central utility plan was also opened in 1999, using what was then the latest technology in managing biomedical waste.

“Mrs Manderson will be remembered and respected as ensuring world-class facilities and standards were delivered at BHB. She is a part of our long journey of pursuing excellence through improvement and her legacy continues in today’s services.”

Mrs Manderson’s family were from Pembroke. Before joining the BHB, she worked in healthcare in California for 28 years.

At Kaiser Permanente Hospital near San Francisco, she served as assistant administrator for hospital operations/director of nursing, director of education and training, nursing in-service co-ordinator, and as nursing supervisor dating back to 1974.

During her tenure, she directed and integrated all administrative and operational activities at the acute care hospital and oversaw ambulatory care multi-speciality clinics.

Before that, she worked as a staff nurse in a 15-bed intensive care unit and critical care unit in San Francisco for six years.

When she took up the BHB chief executive role, the two hospitals had 510 beds and employed 1,200 staff.

She said her work was “tremendously challenging” but that she was happy to be back in Bermuda.

Mrs Manderson emphasised then that hospitals needed to not only provide quality healthcare but to be financially viable.

Despite the challenges that came with the high cost of operation, she said Bermuda should be proud of the hospitals under the BHB, which was about to undergo a Canadian Council of Health Services Accreditation review.

On completion of her role at BHB in 1999, Mrs Manderson returned to the US for a spell then came back to Bermuda from 2002 to 2006 to head the telecommunications company KeyTech. She was also on the board of Butterfield Bank for ten years until her return to the US in 2006.

Her husband, Neville, was originally from Jamaica and worked at the Bermuda College. He died on January 28.

They had a son together, Brian, who died in 2007.

Renée Lewis, Mrs Manderson’s niece and goddaughter, said: “She loved to spend quality time together and build lasting memories which we all cherish to this day.

“Growing up in a household of one of four female siblings, their mother instilled integrity, honesty, compassion and empathy, to name a few, attributes that remained part of their fabric which she lived by.

“She was a pillar of strength in the family and enjoyed bringing everyone together on every possible occasion through family gatherings, picnics, holidays or birthdays.

“We will miss them immensely and our loss has not yet crystallised into reality, but through God, we will seek His comfort.”

Joan Dillas-Wright, the President of the Senate, worked as director of nursing at St Brendan’s and then administrator when Mrs Manderson was at the BHB.

She said: “I worked with her for a number of years and travelled with her on a course for executives.

“She was an excellent executive director; she was professional and had a very good rapport with all the staff.

“She was a good friend.”

Sheila Manderson, a former chief executive of the Bermuda Hospitals Board, was born on July 26, 1939. She died on February 3, 2025, aged 85