St. Ann native, Simone Palmer, took the decision to become a practical nurse after undergoing a life-changing experience occasioned by her three-year-old daughter, Ashalae Grant, being diagnosed with congenital heart disease. Ms. Palmer, who encountered financial and other challenges in the lead-up to her daughter’s surgery for the condition, which doctors diagnosed in 2015 when she was just a toddler,...

When you think of Martial Arts, I’m sure your mind immediately flashes to Old Kung-Fu movies from the late 1980’s and the early 1990’s.  Now try to reconcile that image with that of a slender 29-year old female Taekwondo fighter, with a noticeably impaired right arm. That female is Shauna-Kay Hines. In medical terms, Shauna-Kay Hines is classified as a...

The National Health Fund (NHF) is making healthcare affordable for Jamaicans, through the provision of drug subsidies valued in excess of $30 billion to benefit more than 800,000 persons over its 15 years of operation. This in addition to more than $17 billion in grants to fund health projects, including rehabilitation and upgrading of health facilities. “This is an organisation...

Four health facilities will benefit from the proceeds of the Jamaica Civil Service Association’s (JSCA) Centenary Charity Grand Prix 5K Run/Walk. The four-stage series forms part of the events marking 100 years of service by the public-sector union. The beneficiaries are the St. Ann’s Bay Health Department in the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA); Whitehouse Health Centre in the...

The Consumer Affairs Commission (CAC) has collaborated with the University Of Technology Jamaica (UTech) on an initiative to guide households in selecting healthier food options. The dietary advice that was piloted in 2015 with the CAC and UTech’s College of Health Sciences, is incorporated into the Agency’s existing website enquiry tool. Speaking at a JIS Think Tank recently, Director of...

The Government has recorded significant progress under the Programme for the Reduction of Maternal and Child Mortality (PROMAC), since its launch in 2013. The Programme, being spearheaded by the Ministry of Health under a GOJ-European Union (EU) bilateral agreement with funding support of approximately €22 million, aims to combat infant and maternal mortality by improving five focus areas. These are...

The Government continued to invest in the development of the health sector in 2018, with billions of dollars spent to upgrade and equip hospitals and clinics islandwide. Infrastructure Improvement • The Accident and Emergency (A&E) Department at the Linstead Hospital in St Catherine was reopened following extensive renovation at a cost of $144.98 million. • A New Drug Serv Pharmacy...

Friends of the Bustamante Hospital for Children, in Kingston, have initiated a project to improve amenities for parents and guardians who have to take children to the institution. The group, along with their partners, are seeking to raise $8 million to construct a restroom and other facilities at the hospital. Their major fund-raiser will be held at King’s House on...

More than 250 indigent persons across the parish of Hanover benefited from medical and dental care and other services at a health fair staged recently by the Hanover Poor Relief Department at its offices on Miller’s Drive in Lucea. Inspector of Poor, Neika Edram, tells JIS News that the fair, which is in its sixth year, not only targets the...