United Missions of Goodwill looks to Westmoreland
Published:Wednesday | March 30, 2016 | 12:49 PM
May Pen Hospital in Clarendon last year benefited from well-needed medical equipment as well as seeing their surgery caseload reduced through the visiting medical team United Mission of Goodwill (UMG) from the USA.
Led by president Lorna L Rawle, UMG will be conducting its medical missionary outreach at Savanna-la-Mar General Hospital from May 2 to 6.
"The decision to go to Westmoreland - Savanna-la-Mar to be exact this year, is based on an invitation from one of our members Vivine Senior, DNAP who is a native of Darliston. She was trained as a registered nurse at UWI and migrated to the US where she continued her education specialising in anaesthesia," said Rawle, while she explained why Westmoreland was selected.
According to Rawle, Senior observed that the health care needs in her parish had increased tremendously with the prevalence of urology, gynaecology, dental and ophthalmology problems.
"These persons are placed on waiting lists and suffer during that wait. While the mission will not be able to help all the patients in one outreach, the number of persons will be decreased," Rawle told Rural Xpress.
In addition to offering their medical expertise free of cost, UMG will donate an operation room table, an incubator, an infant warmer and other medical items to the hospital.
The team comprising about 25 health care professionals including surgeons, anaesthesiologists, nurse anaesthetists, registered nurses, surgical technicians, and auxiliary staff will arrive in Montego Bay on April 30. Local volunteers from other areas will join the team including registered nurses from St Thomas. Also joining the team are four senior students of the University of Technology dental programme. They will work under Board Certified Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon Dr Dwight Williams and a dental team for additional practical experience and to give the team extra hands. An invitation is also extended to nursing students.
"This upcoming trip to Westmoreland is very special to me, considering that I grew up in Little London and attended Savanna-la-Mar Primary School which is actually about a quarter mile from the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital," Dr Williams said.