Influenced by her Jamaican mother who taught her Caribbean healing traditions, Seacole was caring for the sick in Kingston by the time she was twelve. In 1818, she traveled to England to acquire knowledge of European techniques of medicine. She also traveled to Cuba, Haiti, and the Bahamas before returning to Kingston in 1853, where she turns her mother's lodging hall into a hospital. In addition, Seacole is invited to supervise nursing services at the British Army Headquarters. She will later work with Thomas Day to establish the "British Hotel" during the Crimean War (1853-1856) to provide care and respite for wounded soldiers. A statue will finally be erected in her honor in 2016, on the grounds of St Thomas’ Hospital on London’s Southbank. She is considered by many to be the first nurse practitioner.