KINGSTON, Jamaica — Responding to a call for assistance from the Bellevue Hospital, the Jamaica Nurses Association of Florida Incorporated (JNAF) has donated medical items to that east Kingston facility.

Lornette Patrick, president of the JNAF, told the OBSERVER ONLINE that the items were shipped last week with assistance from Food For The Poor in Coconut Creek, South Florida.

The goods, valued at US$1000, includes sanitisers, gloves and masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.

Patrick disclosed that walkers, clothing, toiletries, lotions and adult diapers were also sent to Bellevue, which has over 600 patients.

“It is important for organisations like The Jamaica Nurses’ Association of Florida, Inc to assist facilities in Jamaica because providing items that are not available or in short supply enables the staff to deliver care to the patients that will result in positive outcomes,” Patrick told OBSERVER ONLINE.

She was informed of the hospital’s needs by Dr Beverley Gordon, chairperson of the Jamaica Diaspora Medical Task Force in Philadelphia, to whom administrators at Bellevue had presented a “needs list”. The materials were purchased and donated by JNAF.

Oliver Mair, Jamaica’s Consul General in Miami, hailed the JNAF’s gesture.

“A big thank you to Jamaica Nurses Association of Florida for their tireless support to our health sector over the years. This contribution to the Bellevue Hospital is well appreciated. There is more support coming from our groups which we will highlight as they are finalised,” he said.

The JNAF was established in 1983 and currently has 125 active members. Most are registered nurses and social workers.

Over the years, the organisation has staged seminars for nurses in Jamaica and donated medical items to hospitals across the country.

Last year, the JNAF made financial donations to the Jamaica National Children’s Home, the Salvational Army Jamaica and the Lasco Foundation.