Thousands of Jamaicans Get Free Medical Services

Thousands of Jamaicans received free medical services and procedures, which were carried out by an 80-member team from the United States (US)-based Organization for International Development (OID) from January 16 to 20.

Jamaican-born dentist residing in New York, Dr. Roy Streete, led the team of volunteers, which included primary-care providers, who carried out clinics in Manchester, St. Elizabeth, St. James, St. Catherine and Hanover, and heart and gynaecological surgeons, who performed procedures at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI).

At a clinic held at the Lions Club of Mandeville’s Health and Civic Centre on January 16, approximately 30 members of the OID team provided dental, blood sugar and blood pressure checks, medical examinations, eye tests, pap smears and breast cancer screening services, benefiting hundreds of residents, including students.

Dr. Streete, who spoke to JIS News, said that the OID has been organising health missions to Jamaica for more than 30 years and was happy to be back in the island after a three-year break due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We are doing health fairs at different sites throughout the island. Today, we are here at the Lions Club in Mandeville doing a number of checks and we also gave out up to three month’s supply of medication,” he informed.

In addition to the clinic at the Lions Club facility in Mandeville, the health team also went to Coley Mountain and the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) gymnatorium in Manchester; New Ground, Clarendon; Mount Hannah in Hanover; Spanish Town, St. Catherine; and the Coral Gardens Home for Rastafarians and the West Haven Children’s Home in St. James.

Volunteers for the OID mission came from New York and Atlanta.

Chairman of the Lion’s Club of Mandeville, Valerie Brown, who welcomed the collaboration with the OID, told JIS News that “our main focus here is to set up a dental clinic for the children. The OID has provided dental chairs and other items for the proposed dental clinic at the site”.

“We are in discussions with the NCU and the University of Technology, from which we hope to get personnel to offer the services, especially to children. We also hope that this mission will be an ongoing annual activity for us,” Mrs. Brown said.