Little London Health Centre To Benefit From Adopt-A-Clinic Initiative

The Little London Health Centre in Westmoreland, has become the latest facility, to be adopted under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Adopt-a-Clinic Initiative.

The Health Centre has been adopted by the Caribbean Action Network Foundation Initiative (CANFI), whose founder, New York-based attorney, Sandra Smith, is a native of Westmoreland and a past student of Manning’s High School.

The clinic serves an estimated 10,000 residents in a range of primary-care services, taking the pressure off the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital.

Speaking at the adoption ceremony held at the health centre on January 15, Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, expressed appreciation to Mrs. Smith, for her commitment to the development of primary healthcare in Jamaica.

“I want to really place on record my appreciation to Sandra for making this commitment through her association CANFI because I believe that it really is an indication of her vision, her leadership and her spirit of giving back,” Dr. Tufton said.

“I would also like to remind all of us that [this initiative] is really to promote a sense of community and community engagement in the application and administration of primary healthcare. We often neglect the community centred healthcare and skip over to what hospitals provide,” he added.

For her part, Mrs. Smith, indicated that her strong desire to give back to the parish has motivated her to adopt the Little London Health Centre.

“It is a three-year commitment but could be four or five [years]. I’m also planning to encourage others like myself to adopt more clinics in Jamaica because we all want to give back and now with this initiative, we can in fact give back,” Mrs. Smith she stated.

Under the Adopt-A-Clinic programme, the Ministry has earmarked 100 health centres across the island for support from local and international persons, groups and corporate entities, with the aim of strengthening primary healthcare facilities.

CANFI is a United States based charitable organization whose main aim is to connect members of the Caribbean Diaspora to mobilize their collective expertise and resources to build more prosperous communities in the US and in the Caribbean.