Connect - Parkway Pantai

Cover story18cover story 19ConnectConnectThree CheersGleneagles raises its glass to its long service staff.Half a century of service excellence and contribution to healthcare inSingapore — this is what Gleneagles Hospital will be celebrating with prideand joy in 2009. Three others will have just as much to celebrate along withthe hospital. They are Mr Shamsuhadi bin Hj Taher, Ms Gor Boh Ngiangand Mr Kamsin bin Moslin, who will be commended for their steadfastloyalty and dedication to the hospital since its establishment in 1957. Nextyear’s celebrations will mark the 50th anniversary of the official opening ofGleneagles Hospital in 1959.From left to right: Mr. Kamsin bin Moslin, Mr. Shamsuhadi bin Hj Taher, Ms Gor Boh NgiangStep Back in TimeToday, with 380 beds, comprehensive medical facilitiesand numerous medical breakthroughs under its belt,Gleneagles Hospital is a regional healthcare hub. Part ofParkwayHealth, one of Asia’s largest private healthcareorganisations, the hospital was accredited in 2006 bythe Joint Commission International, the world leader inimproving the quality of healthcare.Back in 1957, it was a 45-bed nursing home calledGleneagles Nursing Home, set up amid political and socialuncertainties to care for the sick and the needy amongthe European as well as local communities. Dedicated menand women from our shores and beyond banded togetherat this nursing home to help its noble cause along. Amongthese are our three long-service employees.Starting from ScratchShamsuhadi (“Uncle Sham” as he is fondly addressedby colleagues) was a “kampong boy” from Kota Tinggi,Malaysia. He came to Singapore in 1955 with nothing butthe shirt on his back and a heart full of dreams. A yearlater, a friend in Singapore pointed him to a cleaner’s job atGleneagles Hotel (yes, Gleneagles was formerly a hotel). Hesuccessfully landed the job, and chose to remain when thehotel was converted into a nursing home. With little formaleducation and just $105 in monthly earnings, life was nobed of roses. However, the nursing home was a tower ofrefuge. It provided Uncle Sham with a means of livelihoodas well as direction in life. Over the years, Uncle Sham hasbeen promoted and worked as a pharmacy attendant, amedical orderly, and today he is a Mail Attendant handlingthe internal and inter-hospital mails for Gleneagles andParkwayHealth.Homely DevotionMs Gor Boh Ngiang was just 19 years old when she joinedGleneagles in 1959. Like Uncle Sham, this Singaporean alsohad little formal education. However, through sincerityand enthusiasm, she was given a job as a housekeepingassistant in the wards. In this role, she was very much likethe capable, loyal and beloved “amahs” in households inthe good old days – cleaning the “house”, preparing themeals and safeguarding the “family’s” well-being. Abouta decade later, Ms Gor or “Poh Leong” as everyone callsher, was transferred to the operating theatres and she hasworked there ever since.Ray of SunshineMr Kamsin bin Moslin had already worked in the hospital’skitchen for over nine years before he was transferred to theEndoscopy Department to be a medical orderly. Although