The Heart Foundation of Jamaica has lauded the National Multi-sectoral Non-Communicable Disease Strategic Plan as a major initiative to curb the prevalence of heart disease in Jamaica. Implementation of the plan, which is being led by the Ministry of Health, addresses the four major conditions that lead to illness and death in Jamaicans - heart disease, cancer, lung disease and...

With US$40 million (J$4.65 billion) being spent annually to treat cancer patients in Jamaica,  Executive Director of the Jamaica Cancer Society (JCS), Yulit Gordon, is urging healthcare providers, academia, corporate organizations and individuals to work closer together to help reduce premature deaths, due to cancer. A 2008 report showed that the most prevalent types of cancers in Jamaica were: prostate,...

The four major public hospitals in western Jamaica have received 50 wheelchairs from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Montego Bay, through the charity organization, Food for the Poor. The largest health institution, the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay received 20 wheelchairs, while 10 each were presented to the Falmouth Public Hospital in Trelawny; the Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover;...

“It was screening for prostate cancer that saved my life,” says Dr. Audley Betton. The 40-year medical practitioner recalls that it was in July 2006 after a friend, who is the same age as him, shared that he had been diagnosed with the disease that he decided to get tested. He immediately did a Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) test, which he...

The Cornwall Regional Hospital is improving its customer service to more effectively meet the needs of patients. Senior Administrator at the hospital, Keriesa Bell Cummings, said that Patient Care Representatives (PCR) have been engaged to interact with clients and ensure their satisfaction and comfort. “They are on the ground, in the Accident and Emergency department, and on the wards and...

Chairman of the Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA), George Duncan, has praised the work of the Caribbean Institute of Nephrology for the role it is playing in educating and empowering citizens, as they fight against hypertension. Addressing the opening of a 7th annual International Conference on Nephrology and Hypertension at the Montego Bay Convention Centre, in St. James, on January...

The Ministry of Health will be embarking on a series of health campaign events to encourage the population to consume healthy foods, even as it gets ready for the distribution of the Food-based Dietary Guidelines. “The Food-based Dietary Guidelines are close to completion, and a public education campaign will be undertaken to promote portion sizes, and healthy food choices among...