Sandals Foundation continues its support to local hospitals with the latest donations of two hospital-grade stretchers, two vital sign monitors and four wheelchairs to the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland. This comes on the heels of similar donations made to three other major healthcare facilities across the island.
Present for the handing over was Regional Public Relations Manager for Sandals and Beaches Negril, Jervene Simpson, Senior Medical Officer at the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, Dr. Suman Vemu, and Deputy Director of Nursing Services (acting), Petune Leslie-Blair.
While sharing his gratitude for the donation, Dr. Vemu added that this will be of great help to the institution.
“I would like to thank the Sandals Foundation for their donations. These items are definitely useful. The foldable beds, we use them as transport stretchers to move patients from one location to another. These are helpful especially during this COVID-19 pandemic, when we have isolation units at specific locations that patients need to be transferred to. The vital sign monitors are used to closely observe patients’ conditions, especially when they are critically ill, and the wheelchairs we use to transfer stable patients. I once again want to thank the Sandals Foundation; they always give back to their country and stand with our medical facilities.” he said.
The contribution to the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital is a part of the Foundation’s goal to provide critical equipment and much-needed supplies to the island’s hospitals. The initiative has seen other healthcare facilities such as; Black River, St Ann’s Bay Regional, and Port Maria hospitals benefitting from donations as well.
Executive Director for the Sandals Foundation, Heidi Clarke noted that she is grateful for the work done by the front-line workers and that the Foundation saw the need for the critical equipment and supplies to aid in the care for citizens.
“For the past twenty-one months our island’s medical professionals and facilities have been operating in overdrive; we are happy to be able to provide some of the key resources to help increase the capacity of our first responders, as they provide the quality care needed for the patients. We also hope that the resources will help support their all professional wellbeing. We are extremely grateful to every person working in the healthcare services regardless of their roles; they have been doing such a tremendous job especially in these unprecedented times. It is our duty as a Caribbean organization to do what we can to support our frontline workers and the services of our island’s medical facilities.” Clarke said.
The Sandals Foundation and Sandals Resort International, (SRI) have been making significant contributions to improving Jamaica’s healthcare systems which have been severely impacted since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, with the renovation of hospitals as well as supplying food, linens and other supplies to hospitals on the island.
