The Humanitarian Department of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints handed over several well-needed items to the Black River Hospital in St. Elizabeth during a handing over ceremony on February 10, 2020. The gifts from The Church consisted of: one industrial stove, one gas range, two delivery beds, twenty-one blood pressure machines, six pulse oximeters, four nebulizers and ten wall fans valuing in total, approximately USD$28,000.00.
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Mrs. Herschel Ismail, Director of Operations and Maintenance for the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) thanked The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for its donation on behalf of the SRHA. She went on to say that the fact that some of the gifts were already being used tells of the need and the impact they will have on the delivery of service by the hospital.
The SRHA provides service to the parishes of Clarendon, St. Elizabeth and Manchester in Jamaica. She stated that while the gifts are for Black River Hospital, they would also affect the SRHA outcome as a region. Speaking of the aspect of maintenance, Mrs. Herschel went on to say that they would ensure that the full life of all the gifts is obtained, promising to be good stewards of the items.
Mr. Sean Brissett, Parish Manager for SRHA spoke passionately about the importance of Public and Private partnerships that are needed to provide resources in the health sector. He also said that the things they receive help to leverage with what they already have. He encouraged others to come on board also with donations.
President Courtney Morrison, president of the Church’s Santa Cruz Branch, told the gathering that one mandate of Latter-day Saints Charities is to reach out to our community. He spoke about how pleased he was to observe the successful implementation of the equipment and his hope that they will help to mitigate problems associated with patient care and staff efficiency and functionality.
"Whenever the Hospital receives donations such as these, each moment is considered special because Health and Patient care needs so many things; not just manpower (administrators, doctors, nurses) but also equipment to get better,” said Dr. Sheriff Imoru, a Senior Medical Officer at the Black River Hospital, while he was giving the vote of thanks.
Dr. Imoru stated, “The boxes may look small, yet they can save lives.” This referred to the nebulizers which are used to treat asthma patients. He continued by asking a rhetorical question, “Who doesn’t need a blood pressure check? From the toddler to an adult, everyone needs it!” He continued by expressing thanks for the blessings from the Church especially considering the cost of the gifts received.