Broadleaf Clinic in Manchester to Benefit from $5 Million Refurbishing

Some $5 million has been allocated by the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) to carry out refurbishing work at the Broadleaf Health Centre in Manchester.

Approximately 5000 residents of the community and surrounding areas are expected to benefit from the project, which is expected to start in October and end before Christmas.

The improvement works will facilitate the reopening of the facility, which has been closed for some time, with residents now accessing care at the Porus or Mandeville health centres.

Quantity Surveyor at the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA), Bobby Barton, who led a tour of the clinic on Wednesday (Sept. 21), said that the scope of works will cover the addition of a room at the rear of the building, which was a request from the medical team.

“We have a sum for the patient and staff bathrooms, handrails, upgrades of electrical works, termite treatment for the entire building, plumbing upgrades,” he noted.

Director of Bauxite Lands for the JBI, Kemoy Lindsay, said that the rehabilitation of the Broadleaf Health Centre is part of a comprehensive rollout of healthcare support for bauxite-producing communities.

He said that since 1996, some $1billion in earnings from the sector, has been reinvested in improving health facilities.

“We are currently looking at Broadleaf as well as Alexandria Hospital in St. Ann and Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth, because it is of importance to the JBI that the money earned from bauxite, must go back to support that aspect of society. We do investments in schools, roads, economic development, agriculture and education,” he noted.

Mr. Lindsay said that at Broadleaf, there is also need to address perimeter fencing, landscaping and parking and he would be having additional dialogue in that regard.

Meanwhile, Member of Parliament for Manchester Central, Rhoda Crawford, expressed delight at the planned refurbishing of the Broadleaf Health Centre, noting that road repairs will be undertaken and public WI-Fi service will be available in the area soon.

“I am very happy with this initiative because… when these services are offered in the community it takes a burden off the main health clinic or hospital,” she said.

She said it will also reduce the cost of travel to Mandeville or Porus to access primary healthcare.

“It is welcomed and once it is reopened, any assistance that my office can give, I am committed to doing that,” she pledged.

Acting Parish Manager for the Manchester Health Department, Carlton Nichols, welcomed the support from the JBI to repair the clinic, noting that such collaborations are important in driving sustainable development in the country.

“I am looking forward to the project being successfully completed,” he said.