26-member US health mission to arrive September 4
Published:Tuesday | August 27, 2024 | 12:10 AMLester Hinds/Gleaner Writer
A 26-member healthcare mission drawn from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will arrive in the island on September 4 for an 11-day visit.
Headed by Dr Robert Clarke, chief medical adviser for the Northeast Diaspora, the health mission is under the auspices of Help Jamaica Medical Mission which has been doing healthcare missions to Jamaica since 2010.
The members of the mission will visit Kingston, St Thomas, St Catherine (twice), Clarendon (twice), Manchester and Westmoreland. Westmoreland was added this year to the visit.
At the same time, the mission will visit a school to provide back-to-school screenings as well as medical screenings for members of staff at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, where the members will be headquartered during their stay.
Clarke pointed out that the organisation has been conducting missions to Jamaica and has provided medical assistance to approximately 462,000 patients over the past decade.
Clarke, with assistance from Dr Rudolph Willis, founded the Help Jamaica Medical Mission with the aim of providing healthcare services to Jamaicans in need.
He said the mission has been dedicated to providing free, high-quality healthcare services to those in desperate need, having served thousands of Jamaicans over the years.
Health personnel on the mission will screen patients for diabetes, high blood pressure, infectious diseases, health problems all medical issues and gynaecological issues.
The mission will comprise of seven doctors, drawn from a number of specialities, as well as other health practitioners, including nurses and dental hygienists.
“We will go to the people to provide medical assistance instead of their having to travel many miles to see us. We find that visiting local communities ensures that more people will receive service instead of their having to come to where we are in one central location,” he told The Gleaner.
Clarke serves as the medical director at Silver Lake Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. In addition, he holds the position of physician adviser at three other hospitals in New Jersey and serves as an attending physician at two nursing homes in the state. He also operates a private medical practice at East Orange Medical.