Civil service association donates $400,000 to four health facilities

The Jamaica Civil Service Association (JSCA) on Thursday donated $100,000 each to four health facilities from the proceeds of the JSCA’s Centenary Charity Grand Prix 5K Run/Walk.

The beneficiaries are the St Ann’s Bay Health Department, in the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA); Whitehouse Health Centre, Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA); Mandeville Health Centre, Southern Regional Health Authority; and the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA).

The money will be used to purchase an otoscope and a defibrillator machine at White House Health Centre; to retrofit the Outpatient Department – North and South Wing – with new chairs, ceiling fans and cabinets, at KPH; to purchase supplies at the St Ann’s Bay Health Department; and to expand the Parental Health Clinic at the Mandeville Health Centre.

These entities were selected by the respective regional directors, based on the needs identified.

The Charity Grand Prix included four races that were held in Runaway Bay, St Ann; Montego Bay, St. James; Denbigh, Clarendon; and at Jacisera Park, Kingston, between February and May.The events were part of the JCSA’s 100th anniversary celebrations, held under the theme ‘Running into 100 Years Healthy’.

At the presentation ceremony, held at Jacisera Park in Kingston, president of the JCSA, O’Neil Grant, expressed gratitude to members of the sports committee, who worked tirelessly to organise the four races, and the sponsors who came on board and helped to make the donations possible.

Bringing road races back

“The JCSA prides itself on an organisation that is innovative, and so we dubbed our series the Grand Prix and we hope that, eventually, the organisers of road races will, in fact, develop a Grand Prix of road races.

“We had them almost every weekend and we are hoping that, at some point in time, people will be able to get points to determine who is the national road race champion coming out of the Grand Prix series,” he said.

Additionally, Grant said he is also hoping that the JCSA’s road race will be added to the list of races that are a part of the Grand Prix when it becomes a reality.

However, he indicated that the JCSA will only be having one road race per year going forward and that the next one is planned for April, 5, 2020 in Montego Bay.

Meanwhile, representatives of the different health departments who collected the cheques expressed delight and gratitude.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer at KPH, Diane McIsaacs, while lauding the JCSA for using its anniversary to give back to others, said that “for us at the KPH, the largest hospital in Jamaica and the Caribbean, this gift will go a long way in improving patient care”.

Acting Parish Manager at the St Ann Health Department, Arlene Mighty welcomed the donation as an early Christmas gift.

“I am very heartened and I am sure that the St Ann Health Department will more than benefit, because we try to satisfy our clients’ needs,” she said.

Parish Administrator for the Westmoreland Health Department Claudia Watson also expressed gratitude on behalf of the Western Regional Health Authority.

She gave an assurance that the funds will be used to improve service delivery at the selected facility.