#Jamaica, March 27, 2018 – Montego Bay – Wife of the Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Juliet Holness, says every Jamaican deserves good healthcare and should have access to first-rate health facilities.

Speaking at the opening of the renovated Paediatric Ward at the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital in St. Ann on March 22, Mrs. Holness said it is against that background that it is so commendable that the North East Regional Health Authority (NERHA) and the Issa Trust Foundation have joined together “to produce a world-class facility” for children.

“This phenomenal team has put together a world-class facility to ease the pain of children. You don’t find this kind of effort happening every day, which reinforces even more the need to appreciate this kind of love that has been meted out to our children and their parents,” she said.

In July 2010, the Issa Trust Foundation commenced a partnership with NERHA by launching the Paediatric Rotation and Paediatric Nursing Education programmes. Under these initiatives, significant investments were made by the Foundation in ensuring the training of select clinical staff across the region.

Today, the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) is equipped with 10 infant warmers; eight incubators, two of which are transportable; and eight ventilators.

“The Foundation team has also provided ongoing training and support to the unit and visits the hospital several times a year with needed equipment, pharmaceuticals, sundries and supplies and does ongoing training to sustain this critical partnership,” Mrs. Holness noted.

She said  there is hardly any better way to show love than to do something meaningful for children, adding that “this is the first step” in nation building.

“The idea is for us to nurture the children, so they can become better Jamaican adults. We owe it to them by doing everything we can to give them that opportunity, and this is what the Foundation family has done with the renovations that took place at the Paedriatic Ward,” Mrs. Holness said.

For his part, Chairman of the Foundation, Paul Issa, said his organisation, having forged an agreement with internationally renowned musical group, Air Supply, to be their Brand Ambassadors for Jamaica, hosted a successful fundraising concert in June 2017 on the grounds of the Couples San Souci Hotel in St. Ann, where $20 million was raised.

“The Foundation has used the proceeds from this event to renovate the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital’s Paediatric Ward at a cost of $34 million,” he noted.

Release: JIS