AFTER MONTHS OF PREPARATION, DCH NURSE EXCITED TO BECOME U.S. CITIZEN

After four months of steady preparation and much anticipation, Cheryll Fernando, a Registered Nurse at Dearborn County Hospital, is now a United States citizen.  Ms. Fernando emigrated from her home in the Philippines almost six years ago to work at DCH.

Obtaining United States citizenship requires a significant amount of preparation.  In most instances, an immigrant must have lived in the U.S. for five years.  Ms. Fernando applied for citizenship in January through the website for the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and then received a workbook with hundreds of questions and answers to memorize regarding American history and government.

In March, Ms. Fernando went to Indianapolis to take both a written and oral citizenship examination.  During the tests, she was asked a wide range of questions including those pertaining to the American Revolution, Constitution, Supreme Court and her state and federal representatives.

In April, when Ms. Fernando swore her oath of allegiance to the United States and became a U.S. citizen, both Karen Martini, R.N., her colleague in the DCH Emergency Department, and Pat Sutton, DCH Director of Human Resources, were on hand to celebrate her achievement.  Following the ceremony, she was presented with a certificate of citizenship and an American flag.

“I felt a great sense of pride and fulfillment after the ceremony.  At long last, after five years of living and working in the U.S., now I am a citizen!” Ms. Fernando exclaimed.  “Having the opportunity to become a U.S. citizen was one of the reasons I came to this country.”

“I am so proud of Cheryll, not just as a colleague but as an extraordinary and brave individual who, like the other international R.N.s at DCH, was willing to move thousands of miles from home to work at our hospital,” Mrs. Sutton explained.  “She inspires all of us to continue to strive to improve our lives and the lives of others.”

Not only did Ms. Fernando become a citizen of the United States this year, she also became a new mother.  Ms. Fernando and her husband, Josef Francis Vito, who is also a Registered Nurse, became the proud parents of a baby girl, Jana Isabella Vito.  Jana was delivered by Obstetrician/Gynecologist Carol Lovins, M.D., in Dearborn County Hospital’s Birthing Center.  The Vitos plan to raise a trilingual daughter, fluent in English, Filipino and her mother’s native dialect.

Thanks to Ms. Fernando, two of the nurses in the DCH Emergency Department have become world travelers.  Karen Martini went to the Philippines in 2007 when Ms. Fernando returned home to visit.  In 2009, Mrs. Martini and Lucinda Walston, R.N., also a nurse in the Emergency Department, were at their friend’s side when Cheryll and Josef were married in her hometown of Iloilo City in the Philippines.

“Karen and I were surprised when the Fernandos asked us to be part of the wedding as two of Cheryll’s sponsors,” Mrs. Walston stated.  “We were flattered that Cheryll and her family wanted us to be members of the wedding party.”

Prior to coming to the United States, Ms. Fernando was a Registered Nurse in the Emergency Department of St. Paul’s Hospital in Iloilo City.  She is a graduate of West Visayas State University, also in Iloilo (pronounced ee-lo ee-lo).  Many of her close relatives are nurses as well:  her older sister Christine works at a hospital in New Jersey; her younger sister Rona, at a hospital in the Philippines; and her brother-in-law Peter, in London.

Ms. Fernando first learned about the possibility of employment at Dearborn County Hospital in 2002.  She came to Lawrenceburg in November 2004 as one of a group of nurses and allied health professionals from the Philippines who were recruited by Dearborn County Hospital to join its clinical care staff. 

“After Christine was hired by the hospital in New Jersey, she convinced me to find employment and move to the United States,” Ms. Fernando continued.  “The one thing that really surprised me when I moved to Dearborn County was that it was more rural in places than I had expected, since I grew up in a city.

“Our daughter will be raised in a very different world than I was brought up in,” Ms. Fernando added.  “Is that scary to think about?  Sometimes.  But I also believe we will be very happy here.” 

In July, Ms. Fernando will take Jana to the Philippines to introduce her to her grandparents.  Ironically, on this trip, Ms. Fernando will now need a U.S. passport to return to her former home.