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Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (centre) responds to questions from journalists during a press briefing at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices on February 5, where he provided an update on Jamaica’s national emergency response and preparedness for the coronavirus. He is flanked by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dunstan Bryan (left); and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie.

Border Protection Personnel Being Prepared For Coronavirus

The Ministry of Health and Wellness is training border protection and control personnel to deal with the novel coronavirus. Portfolio Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, said 329 frontline employees at the Norman Manley and Sangster International airports, including immigration,...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (centre), addressing journalists during a media briefing at the Ministry’s New Kingston offices on Wednesday (February 5), where he provided an update on Jamaica’s national emergency response and preparedness for the coronavirus. Listening (from left) are Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dunstan Bryan; and Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie.

National Coronavirus Coordinating Mechanism Being Instituted

Senior Medical Officer at the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, Dr. Suman Vemu, addresses residents during the Westmoreland Public Health Services (WPHS) dengue town hall meeting held at the Bethel Town Baptist Church in the parish on Thursday (January 30).

Persons Advised To Seek Medical Attention At First Sign Of Dengue

President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, Carmen Johnson (left), has the attention of (from second left): Director of Policy Analysis and Research in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Rowena Palmer; Chairman of the Nursing Council of Jamaica, Dr. Leila McWhinney-Dehaney and President of the Jamaica Enrolled Assistant Nurses of Jamaica, Josephine Hutchinson-Bedward, at the launch of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, on January 31, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston.

Country Celebrates Nurses And Midwives

President of the Nurses Association of Jamaica, Carmen Johnson (right), in conversation with the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) Representative in Jamaica, Dr. Bernadette Theodore-Gandi (second left), at the launch of the International Year of the Nurse and Midwife, on January 31, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel, in Kingston. Others (from left) are: President of the Jamaica Midwives Association of Jamaica, Aseta Edwards Hamilton and Chief Nursing Officer in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Patricia Ingram-Martin.

Health Ministry Commended For Global Initiative To Recognise Nurses And Midwives

The Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) received new surgical equipment, which includes a Self-Retaining Surgical Retractor valued at US$9,687, which will be used in open abdominal surgeries, from the Guardian Group Foundation, on Thursday (January 30). Here, Head of the Department of Surgery, KPH, Dr. Lindberg Simpson, holds one of the new surgical equipment donated to the hospital by the Foundation. Sharing in the moment are (from left) Vice President, Legal, Compliance, Risk & Corporate Affairs & Communications, Guardian Life, Claudette Ashman; Senior Medical Officer, KPH, Dr. Natalie Whylie; Chairman, Guardian Group Foundation, Gladstone Lewars; Acting Chief Executive Officer, KPH, Kathleen Cooper Brown; and Deputy Chief Executive Officer, KPH, Diane McIsaacs. The equipment was purchased from funds raised during the 2019 Guardian Group’s ‘Keep It Alive’ 5K Run/Walk.

6 years ago Health & Wellness

PHOTO: KPH Gets New Surgical Equipment

The Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) received new surgical equipment, which includes a Self-Retaining Surgical Retractor valued at US$9,687, which will be used in open abdominal surgeries, from the Guardian Group Foundation, on Thursday (January 30). Here, Head of the Department of Surgery, KPH, Dr. Lindberg Simpson, holds one of the new surgical equipment donated to the hospital by the Foundation....

6 years ago Health & Wellness

Men Urged To Get Screened For Prostate Cancer

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, is urging men over 40 to take advantage of free prostate cancer tests offered through the ‘Boss Man’ campaign. The first of a series of screenings under the initiative took place on Thursday (January 30), at the Morant Bay Health Centre in St. Thomas. Launched in September 2019, Boss Man...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, speaks at a press conference, held at the North East Regional Health Authority Office in Ocho Rios, St. Ann, on January 31.

6 years ago CoronavirusHealth & Wellness

Health Minister Announces Travel Restriction To And From China

The Government has imposed a travel restriction on all flights to and from China, and Jamaicans are also strongly advised not to travel to that country. Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, in making the announcement, says the travel restriction comes in the wake of the World Health Organisation’s declaration of the Coronavirus as a global...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton (left), tests a handheld thermal scanner on Public Health Nurse, Deborah Udo Udo, during a tour of the isolation unit at the Norman Manley International Airport on January 30.

6 years ago CoronavirusHealth & Wellness

Jamaica Prepared To Handle Coronavirus

Health and Wellness Minister, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, says the country is in a state of readiness for the coronavirus. Following a tour of isolation facilities and equipment at the National Chest Hospital and the Norman Manley International Airport (NMIA) on Thursday (January 30), Dr. Tufton said that the country has what is necessary to guard against the infectious...

Executive Director at the Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ), Deborah Chen (centre), addresses a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on January 29, to launch Heart Month, which will be observed during February under the theme ‘High Blood Pressure and the Untold Damage to Kidneys’. With Mrs. Chen are Consultant Cardiologist at the HFJ, Dr. Handel Emery (left), and Deputy Head of Medicine, Kingston Public Hospital, Dr. Davlyn Dewar.

6 years ago Health & WellnessJIS Think Tank

Persons With Preventable Diseases Putting Pressure On Limited Dialysis Resources

The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HFJ) is expressing concern that persons who have preventable conditions that lead to renal failure are putting pressure on the limited dialysis resources in the country. Speaking at a JIS ‘Think Tank’ on January 29, Executive Director of the HFJ, Mrs. Deborah Chen, explained that persons with preventable kidney diseases are creating additional demand for...

Acting Chief Public Health Inspector for St. James, Sherika Lewis, speaking at a dengue town hall meeting on Wednesday (January 29) at the Granville All-Age School in St. James.

6 years ago CommunityHealth & Wellness

Dengue Town Hall In Granville

The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) on Wednesday (January 29) hosted the first in a series of dengue town hall meetings for St. James at the Granville All-Age School in the parish. The event was aimed at raising awareness among residents about the dengue virus and the need for them to remain vigilant in destroying breeding sites for the Aedes...

Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher (seated, centre), signs a contract valued at US$674,000 with Director, Project Planning and Management Limited, Borislav Stoyanov (seated right), to provide designs for the upgrade of 13 health facilities over the next 11 months under the Health Systems Strengthening Programm’. The signing ceremony took place at the Courtyard by Marriott in New Kingston on January 28, where the programme was officially launched. Others (from left) are Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) Team Lead for the Health Systems Strengthening Programme, Ricardo Perez-Cuevas; Attaché Cooperation Section, European Union Delegation to Jamaica, Gabrio Marinozzi; Acting Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Dr. Karen Webster Kerr; and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Dunstan Bryan.

6 years ago Health & Wellness

13 Health Facilities To Be Upgraded And Equipped

A total of 13 health facilities across the island are to be upgraded and equipped under a major programme being undertaken by the Government to strengthen healthcare delivery and combat non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The facilities are Spanish Town, St. Ann’s Bay and May Pen Hospitals; and Greater Portmore, Old Harbour, St. Jago Park, St. Ann’s Bay, Brown’s Town, Ocho Rios,...