Philanthropist to open clinic for the needy in Kingston
Published:Monday | December 13, 2021 | 12:06 AMAinsworth Morris/Staff Reporter
In little over a year from now, philanthropist Reverend Dr Craig Brown intends to open a free-of-charge, comprehensive medical centre for the poor and needy on the grounds of the Holy Rosary Roman Catholic Church, located off Windward Road in Kingston.
Although a date has not yet been set for the opening of this new medical centre, millions of dollars worth of equipment have already been imported into the island by Brown’s charity, Zion Care International.
The medical centre will be created in an area that is now leased and owned by the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Kingston, where the Holy Rosary Primary School is also located.
Brown said the area will be renovated, and they are working on having a partnership agreement with the National Health Fund for this initiative.
“It’s pass thinking about. What is left to be done is for the architects to come in and do the necessary work, but all the equipment is there,” Brown explained to The Gleaner during his visit to the island recently from the United States, where he now lives.
He added, “That clinic will be a very unique clinic, in the sense that it will be offering diagnostic service to the poor, free of cost. I chose to run it and not (operate it) as an adopt-a-clinic under the Government’s programme because I want the service, especially customer service, to be nothing but the best. We have all the equipment there. It’s going to be offering dental, medical and diagnostic services.”
Brown said he has always had a concern for poor and needy persons in Jamaica. With this in mind, he has, through Zion Care International, donated millions of dollars in equipment to the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and intends to assist with creating Jamaica’s first burn unit at the St Joseph’s Hospital, and Medical Centre which is operated by KPH.
“I have a concern for the poor. They have my heart because these are the people that Christ really advocated for. I want to run a clinic where poor people can come and they are treated in a dignified way, and the doctor don’t tell them, ‘I think this is what is wrong’, but the appropriate test is applied,” he said.
scarce specialists services
Brown added, “One of the reasons why we are emphasising on diagnostic is because that is what the poor can’t afford ... when they have to go do an MRI or CT scan or something of the sort ... so that is what we are looking to offer.”
He said an agreement has been made with the Howard University for this initiative.
“I’m trying to bring the specialists services that are so scarce for the poor. This clinic will have a rotation from Howard University Medical School [in Washington, DC]. All the major faculties will spend some time here; the professor and the students,” he said.
The rotation could be as long as three months.
Zion Care International has also been partnering with the Jamaica Medical Foundation to bring medical and other outreach services to the poor across the island.
Their last mission, which was in 2017, took place at Vauxhall High School, where they gave observations and consultancy to some 5,000 persons in one week with a contingent of 84 doctors.