Twelve hundred residents in deep rural St Elizabeth and Westmoreland were beneficiaries of free health care provided by the recent Jamaica Medical Mission.

The mission, which features volunteer medical professionals from Florida-based Nova Southeastern University, in partnership with Sandals Resorts International and the Sandals Foundation, saw doctors and medical students hosting 15 clinics over a five-day period treating respiratory illnesses, hypertension, diabetes, aches and pains, vision impairments, skin conditions and allergies in both adults and children.

In addition to free medical checks, members of the community also had prescriptions filled by pharmacists and received reading glasses from optometrists. Paediatric healthcare was also issued to over 60 children at the Sandals Foundation adopted school Whitehouse Early Childhood Institution.

Established 14 years ago, the programme was started by Don Daly, a Jamaican radio host in Florida and Dr Paula Anderson-Worts, a Jamaica-born doctor and associate professor of family medicine at the Nova Southeastern University. To date, the mission has supplied over 72,000 Jamaicans with free medical assistance and medication, a news release said.

According to Don Daly, the highest percentage of persons came in with symptoms of the Chikungunya Virus especially at the various clinics in St. Elizabeth, “We knew that ChikV had made its way to western and central Jamaica and the team was prepared to deal with the cases. We helped the best way we could by providing ointments for rashes and pain medication.”

Daly thanked the doctors “for giving of their time to the cause” and the Sandals Whitehouse and Sandals Foundation teams for “always partnering with us and helping us to make it happen”.  

He also thanked other key sponsors including Grace Kennedy and Co., Nova Southeastern School of Medicine and Women of HOPE.