$16.2 Million to Rehabilitate Mavis Bank Health Centre

Over 10,000 residents of Mavis Bank and adjoining communities in St. Andrew will benefit from the rehabilitation of the Mavis Bank Health Centre, which is being renovated at a cost of just over $16.2 million.

The project, which is being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) with grant funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and just over $1.6 million in donations by residents, is slated for completion within three months.

The rehabilitation works, for which contracts were signed during a brief ceremony at the St. Michael's Anglican Church hall on Friday (March 30), include: re-roofing of the building; construction of bathroom and laundry facilities; electrical re-wiring; erection of a perimeter chain link fence; and installation of additional water storage tanks, among other features.

In an address delivered, by JSIF Board member, Robert Martin, Managing Director, Scarlette Gillings, noted that the health centre, which has been in operation for over 63 years, had fallen into disrepair and lamented that its current condition “does not engender…proper health care”. This issue, she added, is expected to be effectively addressed by the renovation works.

She also commended the residents’ input, guided by the proactivity of the Community Development Committee, which she said took the “necessary steps” to lobby for assistance in renovating the centre.

Mrs. Gillings advised that a key requirement for the project’s execution is the establishment of a Maintenance Committee, which will be responsible for taking care of the centre.

“Apart from the Maintenance Committee, the CDB will be giving organizational strengthening training that will enable them (committee members) to assist in the monitoring of the upkeep of the project,” she added.

In his remarks, State Minister for Tourism and Entertainment, and Member of Parliament for East Rural St. Andrew, where the health centre is situated, Hon. Damion Crawford, in welcoming the project, underscored the importance of good health in advancing the nation’s development

He also disclosed that, consequent on the hilly terrain in sections of the constituency, he was pursuing the possibility of securing a mobile clinic which would augment the health centre, pointing out that, “if we could achieve that, that would be a great assistance to the improvement of health access within the constituency”.

In her remarks, Head of the Kingston and St. Andrew Health Department, Dr. Audrey McIntosh, who represented the Ministry of Health, in welcoming the renovation and thanking JSIF and the residents for their inputs, underscored the facility’s importance, particularly within the rural environment it serves, adding that “we are looking forward for greater things from the health centre".

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter