CHASE Funds Industrial Washing Machine

The Falmouth Public General Hospital in Trelawny is set to receive a brand-new industrial washing machine that will help to improve efficiency and reduce the cost of doing laundry at the facility.

The much-needed appliance costs almost $22 million and is being funded by the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

“Getting this will be a major improvement for us. We are hoping that we will get it in short order,” Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the hospital, Princess Wedderburn, tells JIS NEWS.

She is hoping that the equipment will be installed early next year.

For more than a year, the hospital, which caters to Trelawny’s population, non-nationals and clients in neighbouring parishes, has been using a malfunctioning machine after its larger unit went out of commission.

This caused the hospital management to often outsource laundry service to private companies, which has proven to be quite costly over time.

Also, the hospital staff has had to travel across parishes to use the appliance at other medical facilities, including the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay, St. James.

The CEO is, therefore, delighted at the prospect that the hospital will have a fully functioning washing machine on location once again.

“It will assist us to provide clean linen for our patients and allow our staff members to be able to wash more comfortably,” she says.

“We are more than happy. We are grateful that they (the CHASE Fund) saw it necessary to come in and assist us. I figure they understand the nature of having such equipment at the facility. It is a really thoughtful donation,” the CEO says.

She notes that clean linen, including bedsheets, blankets, towels, and gowns, are critical in preventing the transmission of diseases.

Chief Executive Officer of the CHASE Fund, W. Billy Heaven, says his organisation is happy to assist the Falmouth General Hospital with the procurement of the washing machine.

He says the project falls under the Fund’s health mandate, which involves equipping and upgrading facilities across the island.

Mr. Heaven is also urging the hospital’s leadership to maintain the appliance when it arrives.

He notes that in funding health projects “we are always mindful of how many people it will benefit, whether it will improve access to healthcare and will result in better healthcare delivery and how our intervention can improve efficiency and the overall health system in Jamaica”.

The Falmouth Public General Hospital is one of several healthcare institutions to have received financial assistance from the CHASE Fund in recent times.

The acquisition of the device is expected to reduce the wait time for the number of patients awaiting the Foundation’s services.

The CHASE Fund dedicates 20 per cent of its resources to supporting health-related projects.

Since the beginning of the 2023/24 fiscal year, CHASE Fund has invested some $122.46M in healthcare in Jamaica.