Health Training Institution To Be Established In Lucea

A health training institution is to be established at the Bioprist Knowledge Park  (BKP) campus in Lucea, Hanover, which will cater to students from Jamaica and overseas.

Officials from Bioprist, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) in the United States, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the undertaking on Friday (Feb.19) at the BKP site, which formerly housed the Jockey garment factory in Lucea.

The agreement will see the establishment of a UAB campus where the university’s health disciplines will be offered to Jamaican as well as international students.

It is also intended to develop stronger healthcare management systems in Jamaica through educational and consulting services, and create a telemedicine system that will possibly link the wider Jamaican healthcare delivery system with UAB’s clinical expertise.

The UAB is an internationally renowned research university and academic medical centre known for its innovative and interdisciplinary approach to education.

Minister of Education, Hon. Rev Ronald Thwaites, welcomed the signing of the MoU, which he said, will enhance training of health professionals and boost the quality of the country’s healthcare system.

“It represents a vote of confidence in Jamaica’s investment climate that will see positive linkages with the hospitality and tourism sectors. In addition, the training of health professionals could spawn a health tourism business since Lucea is situated in the island’s tourism belt,” he added.

Dean of the School of Health Professions, UAB, Dr. Harold P. Jones, said the university is pleased to be part of the development and anticipates the positive impact it will have on Jamaica’s education and healthcare systems.

“What we are committing to is a partnership with the people of Jamaica from the government leadership, the business leadership, investment individuals, to community leaders.  What we want to do is share in working with you to achieve the visions and the dreams that you have. Simply being a part of that is something that excites us and compels us to give our full energy and resources to make that happen,” Dr. Jones said.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Bioprist Holdings Incorporation, Dr. Guna Muppuri, said the signing of the MoU signals the start of a journey to “exploring the options of how best we can utilise our resources and investment in collaboration with the UAB. The idea is to build a tertiary health care educational campus similar to others in the Caribbean but better in its offering.”

He said that the training facility will prepare medical doctors as well as health professionals for the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) sector.

“Our intention is to cater to a wide cross section of students… to get them ready for the emerging BPO industry in Jamaica in areas such as electronic medical records and medical coding,  to allied health professions, to as far as (medical) doctors,” he noted.

The partnership between Bioprist and UAB began in August 2015 with the staging of Jamaica’s first science summer camp at the Lucea campus.

The joint venture, which included the Digicel Foundation, was aimed at empowering and challenging students through hands-on activities in several aspects of science and technology. The camp involved students ages 10 to 13, as well as high school teachers in western Jamaica.

In May 2015, Bioprist acquired the former Jockey factories in Sandy Bay and Lucea, to operate the first BPO businesses in the parish.