Healthcare for renal patients in the southern region of Jamaica has received a boost with the recent installation of eight new dialysis machines at the Mandeville Regional Hospital.

The hospital serves approximately 900 renal patients annually from the parishes of Manchester, Clarendon and St. Elizabeth.

The machines, valued at $23.1 million, were purchased through funding from the Culture, Health, Arts, Sports and Education (CHASE) Fund.

Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA) Director, Michael Bent, tells JIS News that the new machines replace eight that are now obsolete.

“We had 13 machines before we received the new machines, four were relatively new, while others were from 2006 when we opened, so they were very old and they would have outlived their useful lives,” he says.

“The uptime will be higher because these are new machines so we are able to process patients quicker, persons don’t have to be rescheduling dialysis due to machines being down, so we will have greater efficiency with more reliability from these machines,” Mr. Bent adds.

The purchase of the eight dialysis machines is a part of the over $146 million donated by the CHASE Fund to buy 53 dialysis machines for five public hospitals across the country over the last six years.

Project Manager, CHASE Fund, Latoya Aquart-Foster, tells JIS News that the new machines have features that will enhance the treatment of renal patients.

“The facility is now able to operate a three-patient shift system, which means a 16-hour day for the machines to be in constant operation and because the machines are new and not breaking down, the hospital staff can effectively meet the demand of patients requiring dialysis,” she notes.

Mrs. Aquart-Foster adds that due to the critical nature of renal diseases, this purchase is important.

“Dialysis is a life-sustaining treatment and persons who have been diagnosed with end-stage renal disease will have to receive dialysis for life, unless a kidney transplant is done. Therefore, it is extremely important to have machines that are fully functional that can provide patients with uninterrupted care,” she says.

She points out that this initiative is very important to the overall mandate of the CHASE Fund.

“Under the health mandate of the organisation, two of the critical illnesses that we place great emphasis on are cancer and end-stage renal disease. This donation is therefore very important as it allows us to increase our support to persons who have been diagnosed with end-stage renal disease,” she says.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bent says the machines that were installed last month will also reduce the budget allocated to the maintenance of the machines.

“Because the previous machines were over 15 years old, the maintenance cost was very high,” he notes.

Mr. Bent tells JIS News that the health care workers are appreciative of the newly installed machines.

“The staff in the dialysis unit will be much more comfortable because they have more reliable machines in terms of the downtime, and are also able to get through with treating their patients more reliably,” he says.

Mr.  Bent tells JIS News that patients have reacted positively to the new machines.

“It will also boost the morale of the patients, as no longer will they have to come and hear that the machines are down. When we had the old machines and three or four of those went down, it would require staff to work longer hours as we have fewer machines and we still had to see the patients, because dialysis treatment is crucial to saving lives,” he adds.

Mr. Bent says there is a possibility that the number of patients being treated at the dialysis centre could be increased.

“We have a long waiting list because we have many persons who want to get dialysed, but because of not enough equipment, they have to seek dialysis elsewhere and some might even end up not doing it. We may be able to now facilitate more persons because of the increased efficiency,” he explains.

Mr. Bent expresses gratitude to the CHASE Fund for its commitment to healthcare in Jamaica.

“We want to thank the CHASE Fund for financing this project and responding to the Mandeville Hospital’s call to change these machines, so that we can serve our folks in the southern region much better. They have been a very good partner with us over the years and they helped us in 2006 to establish the dialysis centre and they have never left us, as they continue to work closely with us,” he says.

Eleven early childhood institutions (ECIs) across the island have received multifunction printers, ink cartridges and paper donated by the CHASE Fund.  The printers will enable schools to provide printed work as directed by the Ministry of Education, for distribution to children who do not have access to online materials during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Principal of the Bonnett Primary and Infant School in St. Catherine, Michelle Buchanan-Simms, said the teachers at the school were happy with the equipment. “Some parents cannot afford the data and with limited connectivity the students cannot stay on for the duration of the class.  “We will be able to print and give the parents the outlines and the students will receive printed material to supplement online instruction,” she said.

Rita Thomas, a senior teacher at Marverley Primary and Infant School in Kingston, expressed delight that paper was included in the donation of the printer.

Project Manager at the CHASE Fund, Latoya Aquart-Foster, advised that the 11 beneficiary schools were chosen in consultation with the Early Childhood Commission and include the Marverley Primary and Infant in Kingston; Amity Hall Primary and Infant in St. Thomas; Village Primary and Infant in St. Ann; Clarence Brimm Basic in Trelawny; Somerton Primary and Infant in St. James; Friendship Primary and Infant and Camp Savannah ECI in Westmoreland; Harmon’s Primary and Infant  and Campbell’s Castle Primary and Infant in Manchester; Bonnett Primary and Infant in St. Catherine and Seven Ground ECI in Clarendon.

“Equipping ECIs with a printer that is able to copy, scan, fax and print and the necessary materials will impact greatly the operations of each school and directly the students who have been falling behind due to lack of resources,” she said.

The supply of printers is an expansion to the Fund’s installation of 80 SMART boards in 29 schools over a two-year period under its Technology Enhancement Programme.

Twenty per cent of all CHASE Fund resources goes towards support of the early childhood sector.  To date the Fund has spent $5.5B in the early childhood sector since 2003, building, upgrading and equipping schools and resource centres; supporting the development of early childhood materials; and providing scholarships for specialist training in Early Childhood Education among other initiatives.

CHASE Fund Project Officer, Shannon Guthrie, highlights the scanning, printing, faxing and copying capability of the multifunction printer to Rita Thomas, senior teacher at the Marverly Primary and Infant School during the presentation of the printer and accessories to the school on February 12, 2021 at the CHASE Fund office in Kingston.

CHASE Project Manager, Latoya Aquart-Foster, (left) points out features of the multifunction printer to (L-R) Shannon Guthrie, Project Officer, CHASE Fund; Michelle Buchanan-Simms, Principal, Bonnett Primary and Infant School; and Rita Thomas, senior teacher, Marverly Primary and Infant School during a presentation of the equipment on February 12, 2021 at the CHASE Fund offices in Kingston.

In five months of operation, the High Dependency Unit (HDU) at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is achieving its objective of lessening the burden on the recovery rooms and the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU). With a 16-bed capacity, the HDU offers specialist nursing care and monitoring to seriously ill patients essentially operating as an intermediate level of care between what is provided on a general ward and the ICU.

The establishment of the unit was financed with a $50 million grant from the CHASE Fund and included the provision of critical-care beds, electrical surgical suction machines, physiological patient monitors, volumetric infusion pumps and other essential equipment.

The KPH performs on average 350 major surgeries per month with 276 minor or ambulatory cases.  The ICU has seven beds and prior to the establishment of the HDU, post-operative patients would have to be accommodated in the Recovery room.

Dr Natalie Whylie, Senior Medical Officer of the KPH stated that the hospital is the main provider of Intensive/Critical Care services in the Public Health care delivery system. Each day referrals for these services are received from hospitals throughout the entire island of Jamaica and most of these patients cannot be accommodated at KPH. “The capacity of the hospital to accept and manage seriously ill has been significantly enhanced,” she said.  Dr Whylie went on to note that the efficiency of the seven– bed Intensive Care has been expanded as patients can now be transferred to the HDU, allowing for greater utilisation and access. “The increased availability of beds in the Recovery room will in turn allow for more surgical procedures to be undertaken, with the resultant reduction in the waiting time for surgery.  The KPH Team is appreciative of the ongoing partnership with the CHASE Fund though the provision of this grant,” she stated.

‘Billy’ Heaven, CEO of the CHASE Fund said the stated objectives in the proposal submitted to the Fund for more efficient delivery of care was a no-brainer. ‘The Fund appreciated the potential for the HDU which would lead to more effective use of the ICU, remove pressure from the Recovery room and provide quality care for post-operative patients,” he said. He added that the fund had to date spent $4.6 billion in the health sector by upgrading infrastructure, acquiring modern equipment and technologies for hospitals, health centres and clinics and facilitating training of health care providers and also funding public education initiatives.

Support for the HDU falls under the CHASE Fund’s Health portfolio which to date has approved $4.6 billion for initiatives in the sector.

The Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre has been boosted with the gift of a portable ultrasound machine valued at $1.5 million.  The equipment and maintenance agreement – facilitated by the CHASE Fund, the Rotary Club of St. Andrew North and PROVEN Investment limited – is expected to significantly enhance the efficiency with which patients with spinal cord injuries are diagnosed and assessed.

Chief Medical Officer at the Centre, Dr. Rory Dixon, advised that approximately 4,400 patients are treated at the Centre annually, some with spinal cord injury. “These machines prevent patients from having to go externally to hospitals, pay for transportation with two nurses to accompany them. The portable ultrasound machine improves the health of the kidneys of patients with spinal cord injury,” he said.

The Sir John Golding Rehabilitation Centre provides rehabilitative health care for patients with physically altering body function.  It offers services such as: Physiotherapy, Prosthetics and Orthodontic manufacturing, speech therapy, counselling and social support and medical care.

Project Manager of the CHASE Fund, Latoya Aquart-Foster, pointed out that CHASE was pleased to partner with both the Rotary Club of St. Andrew North and PROVEN to provide the much-needed equipment to the Sir John Golding Rehhabilitation Centre.  “It will improve services to patients and that is the drive behind much of the Fund’s initiatives.”  Under its Health portfolio, the Fund supports the improvement of health facilities and the acquisition of vital equipment among other initiatives.

Lori Chuck, Past President of the Rotary Club of St. Andrew North explained that the Rotary club had supplied a portable suction machine and wheelchairs with support from C&WJ Cooperative Credit Union to the rehabilitation centre in 2019.  “We are happy to be able to return to Sir John Golding and do yet another meaningful project to the benefit of present and future patients,” she said.  Kecia Taylor, Past Director of Service Projects added that this partnership allows us to execute our Rotary vision of Service Above Self.

Commenting on PROVEN’s coverage of the cost for the five year warranty, CEO of Proven Wealth Limited, Johann Heaven said  “This forms a part of our Corporate Social response to back community development through meaningful partnership and support; and this goes towards enabling securing a vital piece of equipment that impacts and changes lives with ripple effects”.

The CHASE Fund has handed over 1,400 copies of its publication, Kingston: A Treasure of the Caribbean to the Jamaica Library Service (JLS) for distribution to libraries islandwide.

The book, written by David Buckley with photographs by Kent Reid, details the rich and colourful history of Kingston presented through a tour of significant landmarks and sites of architectural, historical, political and social significance.

During the presentation at the CHASE Fund on June 10, 2020, CHASE CEO, W. Billy Heaven, noted that the book was produced under the Fund’s Arts and Culture portfolio.  “Since inception, CHASE has sponsored the publication of books that enhance the collection of outstanding historic and cultural works by Jamaican authors about Jamaica and the Caribbean.  It is our hope that this book will educate and foster a renewed perspective on Jamaica’s capital,” he said.  Mr. Heaven disclosed that CHASE has so far supported 96 publications.  “The publications which have received CHASE Fund support document Jamaica’s historical and cultural experience, academic and sports achievements and feature our poetry and other creative writings,” he said.

Director General of the JLS, Maureen Thompson, in acknowledging the donation said, “This publication provides an enchanting tour of the rich history of Kingston & St. Andrew colourfully photographed with a compelling narrative.” Miss Thompson commended CHASE Fund for recognizing libraries as focal points to make the publication available to citizens.

The book will be made available in the JLS islandwide network of school libraries and select public libraries. In addition to distribution by the JLS, copies will be made available to the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, The Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation, the Ministry of Tourism and the Office of the Prime Minister.

With the generous support of the CHASE Fund, the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) is now able to provide various types of non-invasive echocardiography testing for cardiac patients at its new Cardiology Unit. The Unit was officially opened on Wednesday, Novemmber 20, 2019.

Dr. the Hon. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness, said that the $64 million investment made by CHASE increases the accessibility and standard of care to cardiac patients by increasing echocardiography services from 10 patients per week to 15 per day with the provision of additional services.

The establishment of the Unit is critical to KPH operations, as more than 25% of Jamaica’s adult population have at least one major risk factor of Cardiovascular Disease (CVD). This condition is now the leading cause of deaths and disability in Jamaica.

Additional services such as 24-48 hour ECH monitoring and stress echocardiography are now provided.  On average, 160 echocardiogram requests are received at the KPH monthly.

A new building for the infant department at the Unity Primary and Infant School, was officially opened on November 14, 2019.  The renovation and expansion of the school, located in Bunkers Hill, Trelawny, was undertaken with a $28.4 million grant from the CHASE Fund.  The project included the renovation of the existing building into three classrooms; the construction of a kitchenette, sickbay, bathroom facility, storeroom, perimeter fence and administrative office; and the provision of kitchenequipment, classroom furniture, sickbay furniture and play equipment.

This Infant department was once a stand-alone basic school formally known as the Unity Basic School. However, in September 2015, under the Ministry of Education’s Rationalization programme, this basic school was converted into an infant department.  The Infant Department now caters to 60 students from the communities of Wakefield, Adelphi, Drumilley, Deeside and Bunkers Hill.