By Erica James-King, Staff ReporterWESTERN BUREAU:
THE ABILITY of the Falmouth Hospital, in Trelawny, to provide quality health care was significantly boosted recently when the institution got a generous donation of US$20,000 in medical supplies, courtesy of Food for the Poor (FFTP).
The generous offer was made against the background of an article that was published in the Sunday Gleaner of July 6, 2003, highlighting the financial plight of the hospital. That story came out the Gleaner's Editors' Forum, which was staged in Falmouth the previous week.
Noting that FFTP's support to the island's medical fraternity has exceeded US$9 million since the start of the year, Sidney Henry, the organisation's Communication Manager, said the donation to the Falmouth Hospital would serve to allay the fears, in the communities the institution serves, that the hospital would be closed.
The surgical department and the children's ward scored big in terms of gifts the hospital received. The surgical department got orthopaedic surgical equipment, cardiac surgical equipment, surgical tables, surgical gum and surgical instruments; while the children's ward got baby cots and nutritional supplements.
Other gifts to the institution included X-ray machines, drip stands, beds, refrigerators, ECG machines, dental curing lights, suction units, gauze and office furniture.
Giving more details of the FFTP's partnership with the medical fraternity, Mr. Henry stated that over the last ten years, the organisation has offered help to most hospitals in the island. He explains that supplies are this week being sent off to Kingston Public Hospital and Bustamante Hospital for Children.
Responding to the latest philanthropic gesture towards the hospital, Norma Stephens, the matron at the institution, said the staff was grateful for the supplies, which will "do well in filling some gaps at the facility."
