Already a recipient of Chief of Army Staff’s Commendation twice in 2011and 2012 and the Vishisht Seva Medal on 26 January 2014, Maj Gen Sunita Kapoor, VSM, of the Military Nursing Service (MNS), Additional Director General(ADG) MNS, was further awarded the coveted Florence Nightinale Award by Honourable President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee on 12 May 2014.
Another achievement for her is that for the first time in June-July 2014, BsC Nursing students of Military Nursing Service (MNS) will join colleges to do their 4 years course. During her tenure as ADG, MNS, the two Schools of Nursingone at the Army Hospital (Research and Referral) at Delhi Cantt and the second at Command Hospital Central Command, at Lucknow have been upgraded to Colleges under Delhi University and Chhatrapati Shahuji Maharaj Medical University respectively.
Maj Gen Kapoor was born in 1955 to Dr G L Anand and Smt Raj Rani Anand at Tanda Urmar. As a school girl she used to assist her father in his clinics and was moved by the sight of the ill in the days of limited medical facilities. Unfortunately, she lost her father at a very young age. Despite facing hardships, she was keen to continue her father’s humanitarian work. Her inclination towards patient care motivated her to join Military Nursing Service at INHS Asvini, Mumbai in 1973. She thereafter pursued her midwifery training from Command Hospital Central Command Lucknow. Commissioned as a Lieutenant in MNS on 20 Jan 1976, in 1983 she married Mr Romesh Kapoor, hailing from Jammu.
In her career of 38 years, Maj Gen Kapoor has had various prestigious clinical and administrative posts. Her sharp vigil in the labour room at Military Hospital, Jammu saved lives of many babies and mothers who would otherwise have been forced to travel to other specialised centres during inclement times.
cThe quest of nursing excellence has been her core value right from her formative years in nursing. She has served in various Armed Forces hospitals, including in counter insurgency areas in Northern and Western Commands. She assisted in complex surgeries during Operation Parakaram as the Principal Matron of a Military Hospital. She is highly acclaimed for her excellent nursing skills and has made remarkable contribution in all speciality fields of nursing, especially in the fields of intensive and cardiac care; maternal and child health; and organ donation.