Surena Francisque has been with Hôpital Saint-Nicolas de Saint-Marc as a nursing assistant for 19 years. She joined Zanmi Lasante’s team in 2010, left temporarily, then returned in April 2024. She doesn’t seek recognition, but her face is known in the corridors, and her manner inspires confidence. Her mission: to take vital signs, help welcome patients, reassure, explain, assist doctors and ensure that each person feels accompanied during their time at the clinic.
What strikes you about her is her consistency. In an environment marked by instability, she’s there, on time, attentive, focused. For her, caring means being available with respect, not just administering a medical act. She remembers one patient who was anxious about starting treatment. We had to listen to her, answer her questions simply, and stay by her side while she received her first treatment. The patient came back afterwards to say thank you, with tears in her eyes. “It’s at moments like these that you understand why you do this job,” she says.
Surena Francisque, auxiliaire infirmière à l’Hôpital Saint-Nicolas de Saint-Marc
Surena doesn’t work alone. What makes her work possible is also the support of a trained, committed team, in the image of what Zanmi Lasante is trying to build in Saint-Marc and throughout the country: a system where every patient, whatever their status or origin, receives a dignified welcome, quality care, and a genuine listening ear. In this collective effort, auxiliaries like her play a discreet but fundamental role.
She acknowledges that the context is not simple. Medication can be scarce, days can be long, and misunderstandings abound. But she makes the best of it. She talks with her colleagues, adjusts her approach, finds solutions, stays calm.”
We can’t change everything, but we can always do our part.”
What motivates her is seeing people get better. Patients come in weak, sometimes discouraged. They leave on their feet, sometimes even with a smile on their face. It doesn’t show up on the statistics, but that’s where the real result lies.
Surena hopes to see more young people join the care professions. Not just for a job, but to serve. She dreams of a strengthened system, where teams are well equipped, trained, and listened to.
Her message is direct:“Don’t wait until you’re down to consult. Come at the first sign. And above all, trust the care. We’re here for you.”
It’s thanks to professionals like Surena that the system holds together. But they need your support. Help us strengthen care in frontline hospitals.