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Mandeville Regional Hospital gets $2m worth of equipment

Published:Monday | November 2, 2020 | 12:09 AMTamara Bailey/Gleaner Writer
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Health ministries director at the Central Jamaica Conference, Deon Henry, hands over a vital-signs machine to chief executive officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, Alwyn Miller.
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Health ministries director at the Central Jamaica Conference, Deon Henry, hands over a vital-signs machine to chief executive officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, Alwyn Miller.
Some of the equipment donated to the Mandeville Regional Hospital by international philanthropist and chief of medicine at the Northeast Georgia Medical Centre, Dr Pete Williams.
Contributed
Some of the equipment donated to the Mandeville Regional Hospital by international philanthropist and chief of medicine at the Northeast Georgia Medical Centre, Dr Pete Williams.
Dr Everton McIntosh, senior medical officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, explaining the purpose of the equipment donated to the hospital on Thursday at a handover ceremony.
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Dr Everton McIntosh, senior medical officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital, explaining the purpose of the equipment donated to the hospital on Thursday at a handover ceremony.
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MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

The Mandeville Regional Hospital (MRH) will now be able to strengthen their service offering and particularly their fight against COVID-19, following a donation of over $2 million in equipment from the Central Jamaica Conference (CJC) of Seventh-day Adventist Church and international philanthropist, Dr Pete Williams, in partnership with the GSI Foundation of Jamaica.

Vital-signs monitors, Invacare oxygen concentrator, warmer fluid medulla, bassinets, humidifiers and temperature monitors were some of the items donated and described as a timely blessing by hospital staff.

Chief executive officer at MRH, Alwyn Miller, said the equipment will not only serve the wider hospital community, but also COVID patients.

COVID patients

He told The Gleaner that there are now only four COVID patients on the isolation ward with very few admitted persons requiring ventilation.

“Most times we would have at least one or two persons needing ventilation, thankfully not the majority. We have seen a decline in the numbers presenting with the virus, which we are happy for, but I want to encourage the public not to be complacent as COVID-19 is easily spread and we would prefer to have no individual suspected or confirmed with COVID.”

Health ministries director at CJC, Deon Henry, said the donation would not have been possible without Dr Pete Williams, chief of medicine at the Northeast Georgia Medical Centre in the United States (US), who purchased the equipment, and the GSI Foundation that facilitated the equipment shipping from the US to Jamaica.

Dr Williams was represented by professor at the Northern Caribbean University (NCU), Dr Daniel Fider, who stated that this was the first of three donations being made in the island, courtesy of Williams’ medical centre.

“I am also pleased to announce that discussions have begun with Dr Williams and the hospital to forge a partnership with NCU in the exchange of nursing students, healthcare professionals and staff physicians who can share their expertise while benefiting from the course richness that exist in house two facilities [post-COVID],” said Fider.

Senior medical officer at MRH, Dr Everton McIntosh, said the value of the equipment supersedes the cost and will greatly benefit the high-dependency unit which has a great need.