April 22, 2003 – For Roy L. Schneider Hospital Chief Executive Officer Rodney Miller, it's been a pretty good year. Since he started his service as CEO, he says hospital operations have improved and staff morale is rising. And to top it all off Monday night, the new administrator got his first taste of V.I. Carnival.
As Miller emerged from the crowd at the annual Carnival Hospital Show, along with his wife, Ronica, and their family of toddlers, the Schneider chief said, "This is wonderful for hospital morale. This is a remarkable event, not only for the patients but for the staff as well."
Miller said he knows of no other community in the U.S. that offers the kind of entertainment he experienced that night.
More than 15 acts, including majorettes, calypsonians, pannists and quadrille dancers, took to the small stage set up in the roadway in front of the hospital entrance to bring a taste of Carnival to those who can't come out for a "lime." Miller said about 50 patients were in the audience and more watched from the windows of their rooms. The patients were joined by busloads of seniors from two local nursing homes and hundreds of residents who came to share their joy.
A troupe of baton twirlers bounced to the sounds of the Jam Band with one of this year's tunes, "Granny," which features the lyric, "Granny wants the young people's thing."
Hospital show committee member Stefan Jurgen watched with satisfaction from the side by a row of hedges where he kept an eye on the queue of performers waiting for their turn on stage. Jurgen said that in the years since the show began as modest event in the hospital lobby, participation has grown so much that organizers had to move it outdoors.
"I get in touch with the troupes and call all the people who have something to do with Carnival and ask them to come down and support the show," he said. Jurgen said what pleased his most was making it possible for older folks to get in on the excitement. "Carnival is for the old and the young," he said.
Spirits were especially high among the hospital's royalty, the staff choosing its own king and queen to reign for the night. Queen Philyenica Boney smiled as well wishers crowded around her peacock chair for congratulatory pecks on the cheek. Beside her a jolly king Mario Lott beamed proudly.
Lott, a nurse in the hospital's Behavioral Health Unit, said he wanted all of his co-workers to use the event to gather together like family. "It's pretty exciting. I'm hoping I can do something positive with this title, like maybe bring the hospital together," he said.
Boney, who works in the Schneider Hospital emergency room, said that she welcomed the honor bestowed on her by her counterparts and that she was looking forward to bigger and better things in the field of health care. "I feel very good," she said.
Also enjoying the family vibe was spectator Austin Duncan, who came to cheer on his 5-year-old daughter, Arya, one of the performers in Monday night's show. Duncan said he was impressed by the way organizers reached out to those who might otherwise be forgotten at Carnival time.
"I think it's a good gesture to the needy, the old and the well. They're still part of society and this is to awaken them to that," Duncan said.
Publisher's note : Like the St. Thomas Source now? Find out how you can love us twice as much — and show your support for the islands' free and independent news voice … click here.
