VJH Gets Foetal Doppler Machines From JURA

The Victoria Jubilee Hospital (VJH) in Kingston has strengthened its capacity to provide specialised maternal care with the donation of foetal doppler machines from the Jamaica United Relief Association (JURA).

The handover ceremony, held on the hospital grounds in downtown Kingston, on August 21, marked yet another chapter in JURA’s long-standing support for the institution.

Senior Medical Officer at VJH, Dr. Garth McDonald, welcomed the contribution, noting the critical role the organisation has played in equipping Jamaica’s largest maternity hospital.

“Victoria Jubilee Hospital has been around from 1892. We started out as a 12-bed unit. We are now at 243 beds and 105 cots. We are the final referral point for all women’s health issues for obstetrics and gynaecology, labour and delivery and neonatology [and more],” Dr. McDonald said.

He highlighted that over the last decade, JURA’s donations to the hospital alone have amounted to US$500,000, or approximately J$80 million.

Dr. McDonald said these contributions ranged from ventilators, incubators, infusion pumps to furniture and even blankets.

The partnership, he said, has been transformative, adding that “they have not waited on crisis to say, I’m going to run to the nursery”.

“They have taken on the nursery head-on with the needs that are there and would have saved the lives of so many more Jamaican neonates that are born and kept alive at our nursery, which does have a survival rate of greater than 70 per cent for all babies who would end up on a ventilator or needing some form of respiratory support,” Dr. McDonald said.

For his part, President, JURA Foundation, Len Johnson, expressed his organisation’s pride in contributing to the hospital’s mission of saving lives.

Mr. Johnson noted that since its founding in April 1985 by Jamaicans in South Florida, JURA has provided humanitarian aid in health, education, and community development, both locally and abroad.

“Our core mission is to provide humanitarian aid within the healthcare industry foremost. We also support educational needs, and across other communities that are lacking adequate social services, JURA steps in and tries to be a partner,” he explained.

Mr. Johnson emphasised the alignment between JURA’s mission and the work of Victoria Jubilee Hospital.

“Today, as the Victoria Jubilee Hospital focuses on maternal healthcare, which we know is a cornerstone of a healthy society, we all recognise the critical role which they play in the lives of countless Jamaican families, particularly expecting mothers and newborns. Your tireless work aligns with JURA’s mission to support vital healthcare services, and we are honoured to donate these equipment,” Mr. Johnson said.

The donation was also made possible with the support of sponsors, including JN Bank, Victoria Mutual Building Society (VMBS), GraceKennedy Group, the Jamaica Tourist Board, Caribbean Ocean Logistics and more.