St. James Residents Benefit from Free Health Care

An estimated 3,000 persons from Montego Bay and surrounding communities in Eastern St. James have benefitted from free health care through the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College Alumni’s inaugural health mission.
During the five-day mission, held on the school campus, the Granville Health Centre and the Catherine Hall Clinic, some 40 doctors, registered nurses and other health personnel from Jamaica, the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Germany administered dental and eye care, medical screening, blood sugar tests, among a range of other health services.
Central Executive Chairman of the Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College Alumni, Leo Gilling, told JIS News that the health mission was the fulfillment of a dream for the group and was a resounding success.
“The health mission was pretty successful. I am very happy and pleased.this has already been a great accomplishment for the past students as we seek to give back to society,” he stated.
He said that planning for the mission started last September. “We got our people together and we have had all the approvals, all the doctors and nurses confirmed and we came in with packages of medicine, medical equipment and other necessary material,” Mr. Gilling told JIS News.
He indicated that already, the group was looking ahead to see “how we can expand this health mission to make it even bigger next year to include more dentists and a wider variety of health disciplines (and) reaching and impacting on a wider area of assistance for citizens across the parish”.
Member of the health mission and a past student of Sam Sharpe Teachers’ College, Lorraine Ferguson, a Registered Nurse, said that she was “very gratified” to have had the opportunity to be a part of the planning and implementation of such a well needed service.
“Despite the long and tedious planning, I am glad we were able to pull this off. When I saw persons showing gratitude for the medical assistance they were receiving I felt so gratified … and I felt reassured that what we were doing was worth it. It’s a lot of work and a lot of sacrifices… I feel hooked to the idea of giving back and am glad to be a part of this effort,” Ms. Ferguson told JIS News.