Medical Team from Atlanta to Begin Health Mission Oct. 3

A team of 40 medical practitioners, nurses and other volunteers will arrive in Montego Bay on October 3, to begin a health mission to that city. The delegation will be led by Jamaica’s Honorary Consul to Atlanta, Vin Martin and Dr. Yvonne Smith, the mission’s Health Director. Mr. Martin told JIS News that the mission would operate from the St. John’s Methodist Church hall, and given the recent damage caused by Hurricane Ivan, many residents might be in need of greater health care and medication.
He said that a large portion of the medicines to be donated to the patients would be purchased from Lasco’s Pharmaceutical Division in Jamaica, a departure from their tradition of sourcing all medicines in the United States.
In a message commemorating the 11th mission to Montego Bay, Atlanta’s Mayor, Shirley Franklin commended the Atlanta-Montego Bay Sister City Committee for the great work it was doing to strengthen the ties between both cities.
“Your commitment has indeed helped to make Atlanta truly a city of global stature and calibre, and to engender economic, educational and cultural advancement. I congratulate the Health and Human Services Committee for the wide recognition it has gained through the commitment of its health care professionals, who give selflessly to address the health care needs of the residents of Montego Bay,” the Mayor said.
For his part, the Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Noel Donaldson, said “it is with great appreciation that we acknowledge the invaluable contribution that [the Committee] has made to our people over the years through this programme”.
“I wish to say that your team stands as true representatives of your profession. You have epitomized two key concepts associated with the field of health care, that of volunteerism and quality service,” the Mayor’s message added.
Over the past 10 years, the mission has served 21,000 patients in St. James and neighbouring parishes. It is also estimated that during this period, approximately $30 million worth of medical supplies and services have been donated by the health committee. The visiting practitioners will be joined in Montego Bay by several local physicians, nurses and scores of non-medical volunteers.
The mission is conducted under the auspices of the St. James Parish Council, and is facilitated by the St. James Health Department.