Victoria Jubilee Hospital Receives Donation of Surgical Equipment
By: , July 25, 2025
Photo: Mark Bell
Staff of the Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) and representatives of charitable organisation Masonic Homes look at surgical equipment donated to the hospital by the charity, which were handed over at the institution’s downtown Kingston location on Wednesday (July 23). From left are Chairman of the Masonic Homes, Donald Reynolds and Treasurer, Warren McDonald; Acting Ward Manager at VJH, Shannon Bowen; Medical Officer, Dr. Shane McNeil; Director of Nursing Services, Elise Fairweather Blackwood; Acting Chief Executive Officer, VJH; Kathleen Cooper-Brown; and Deputy Director of Nursing Services, Candice Thompson.
Photo: Mark Bell
Acting Ward Manager, Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH), Shannon Bowen, addresses a ceremony for the donation of surgical equipment by the Masonic Homes at the hospital in Kingston on Wednesday (July 23).The Full Story
The Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) has received a donation of surgical equipment valued at $2 million from charitable organisation Masonic Homes.
The items, sourced through local firm EGK Distributors Limited, include a 148-piece hysterectomy set and tools used in labour and delivery and to monitor the mother and newborn.
They will strengthen the hospital’s surgical capacity and enhance the quality of care provided to mothers and newborns.
Addressing the presentation ceremony held at the hospital in downtown Kingston on Wednesday (July 23), Acting Chief Executive Officer of VJH, Kathleen Cooper-Brown, said the donation represents “hope for safer surgeries, better outcomes and strengthened care for the thousands of women and families we serve each year”.
Noting that the contribution will have a “lasting impact”, she said it will empower the dedicated medical team and enhance the capacity of staff to serve with excellence.
She expressed gratitude to the donors. “Thank you for choosing to stand with us and thank you for believing in the work we do here,” Ms. Cooper-Brown said.
Chairman of the Masonic Homes, Donald Reynolds, in his remarks, said the group is the chief charitable organisation of the Scottish Masonic Masons in Jamaica.
He noted that among other things, the charity assists in the operation of homes for the aged and infirm, and supports medical and health institutions.
Acting Ward Manager at the VJH, Shannon Bowen, also welcomed the “generous donation” from Masonic Homes, noting that the equipment “will strengthen our services and, ultimately, enhance patient outcomes”.
“Thank you for partnering with the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in our mission to deliver compassionate and excellent maternity and newborn care,” she expressed.
Established in 1887, the Victoria Jubilee Hospital is the largest referral maternity hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean.
The facility is dedicated to providing effective, efficient and comprehensive maternal, child, gynaecological and reproductive health services through the utilisation of adequately trained staff in a caring, safe and peaceful environment.
Services offered at the facility include antenatal, postnatal, gynaecology, family planning, adolescent health, and maternal-foetal medicine.