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Citizens in St. James Benefit from Free Health Services

October 10, 2007

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Some 3,500 citizens from St. James and adjoining parishes are benefiting from free health services, which are being provided by some 25 medical volunteers from the United States.
The services, which include blood pressure checks, breast, eye and dental examinations, are being offered at the 12th annual Montego Bay/Atlanta Sister Cities Health Fair, which is being held at the St. John’s Methodist Church Action Centre from October 8-11.
The annual event is an outreach programme of the St. James Parish Council in collaboration with the St. James Health Department, with contributions from the Ministry of Health.
Several of the medical volunteers were also dispatched to clinics in St. James including Catadupa, Adelphi, Catherine Hall, Stonehenge and Maroon Town.
Honorary Consul to Atlanta, Vin Martin, who is head of the health mission, told JIS News that his team was committed to the programme and was seeking to expand the health fairs to three for the parish each year.
“We are doing this not because anyone has asked us to, but because we feel a sense of commitment to a system. We do think that this area, that of health care, is one in which we can make the most immediate impact in the respective communities,” he stated.
Courtney Fray, a medical volunteer from Atlanta, who grew up in Jamaica, told JIS News that being a part of the health mission was his way of giving back to the island.
“Coming here to give service to people really feels good,” Mr. Fray told JIS News. As a person who grew up here in Jamaica and attended school at Kingston College, it is pleasing to be able to come back and give back to my country. I don’t think I do anything more gratifying than this all year,” he stated. Over the past 12 years, the Montego Bay/Atlanta Sister Cities Health Fair has addressed the medical needs of approximately 33,000 persons at a cost of over $50 million.

Last Updated: October 10, 2007

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