Construction Begins on Type Three Health Clinic in James Hill

Construction on the Type Three health clinic in James Hill, Clarendon, has commenced. Director of the Health Facilities Maintenance Unit at the Ministry of Health, Vincent Williamson, informed JIS News on Thursday (July 19) that “We have laid out the building, excavated the foundation, put in the reinforcement bars, we have cast the foundation, and we are actually blocking up the structural walls at this time.” The work, which began last month, is slated for completion over a period of four months, and has been on schedule, he noted.
The clinic will be of great benefit to residents of eight communities, including Corner Shop, Red Hills, Trout Hall, Crooked River, Grandfield, Nine Turns, Grantham, and Johns Hall.
Residents now travel to health centres located in Chapelton and Christiana and so the clinic will, Mr. Williamson said, “service a large number of communities in the hills of Clarendon”. A Type Three health clinic provides full medical services including pharmaceutical, dental, maternity, and child welfare, nutrition, family planning, and immunization.
The $19.2 million contract for the construction of the facility was signed on May 7, by Minister of Health, Horace Dalley and contractor, Walcan and Associates. At the signing, Mr. Dalley announced that $10 million would be spent on repairs to some 400 health centres across the island.
According to Mr. Williamson, work to this end will begin this weekend on the Glengoff and Central Village Health Centres in St. Catherine; the Mount Carey Health Centre in St. James; and the Crooked River Health Centre in Clarendon.