LAVERN PALMER, operations manager at the Mandeville Regional Hospital in Manchester, will become the new chief executive officer (CEO) at the May Pen Hospital in Clarendon.
Mrs. Palmer, a registered nurse who has a Master's in public health, will assume the post on February 1. Her appointment follows a recommendation made by a review team which audited the May Pen Hospital late last year.
The external audit into conditions at the hospital and the regional authority was prompted by staff and community residents' protests against poor hospital service and decisions taken by former parish manager, Canute Thompson, and the Southern Regional Health Authority (SRHA).
Health Minister, John Junor, ordered the audit after residents and staff protested the level of service at the hospital; the transfer of records technician, Averill Dixon-Thomas, who had complained that the hospital was turning away patients who could not pay for medical care; and the management's attempt to force the hospital's senior medical officer, Dr. Winston Dawes, to take leave after he corroborated her charges.
