Prime Minister Andrew Holness Thanks Medical Personnel in St. Elizabeth

 

Press Release From The JIS - 2024/07/05:

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, has thanked public health personnel in St. Elizabeth for their selfless devotion in caring for the sick during the passage of Hurricane Beryl on Wednesday (July 3).

He expressed these sentiments during a visit to the Black River Hospital on Thursday (July 4), where he met with the institution’s staff as well as the leadership of the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA).

“My respect to you, [and] thank you for your service,” Prime Minister Holness said during the visit which formed part of his tour of sections of Jamaica’s south coast in the hurricane’s aftermath.

Hurricane Beryl has left several health facilities, including sections of the Black River Hospital, damaged.

The St. Elizabeth Health Department reported that the Junction Health Centre has been seriously impacted, with a number of windows blown out which caused significant indoor flooding. Trees along the premises were also downed by the hurricane force winds.  

Over at the Bellevue Health Centre, the roofing on the main building, staff quarters, gazebo and toilet facilities were blown off. 

The Newell Health Centre was similarly impacted, with sections of the roof blown away, causing major indoor flooding.

The doctors quarters attached to the Black River Hospital experienced flooding, consequent on sections of the roof being blown off. The staff also had to deal with major leakages inside the main building. 

“So we have several areas that would need some repairs, such as the paediatric ward that has some leaks, as well as the laundry, administration bathrooms, and more. Some windows from the male ward were actually knocked out by the force of the winds. So those will have to be replaced,” Hospital Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Diana Brown-Miller, told JIS News.

There is, however, good news, with no reported damage to health centres in Santa Cruz, Lacovia, Pepper and Balaclava. 

The St. Elizabeth Health Department is still awaiting a report on the health centres in New Market and Maggotty. 

Nonetheless, the Department’s staff remain in high spirit despite the impact of the first hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, according to Mrs. Brown-Miller.

She indicated that the hospital housed over 71 patients during the hurricane. 

“What we did [was] we closed down some of the wards and merged the remainder; this made it much easier for the staff to care for them,” the CEO stated.

“So, we are coping well, given the situation; lots of persons (staff members) were here from yesterday (Wednesday) morning. We [were] just about sending them home, and even some [were] unable to, given that the passage to their home [remained] blocked. So, they decided to stay put,” Mrs. Brown-Miller added.

Patient Care Assistant, Colette Ornett, told JIS News that despite the seriousness of the hurricane, she and her colleagues were dedicated to carrying out their duties to the people of St. Elizabeth. 

“We decided that everybody [was] going to be at work to stay with our patients, because the patients need us; so we could never leave and leave the patients behind us. So we are really happy that it wasn’t really too bad here and we are coping here,” Ms. Ornett outlined.