THE cash-strapped St Ann's Bay Hospital got a Christmas 'booster shot' last week when, like elves on a mission, a team from JN Money Transfer delivered a gift intended to improve patient care.

"You travelled all the way from Kingston just for this! We are truly grateful," Senior Medical Officer, Dr Nicole Dawkins exclaimed excitedly as she accepted a $100,000 donation from the team.

"We have already ordered the machines," Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Keith Richards chimed in. He was referring to new blood pressure and vital signs monitors which the hospital badly needed to replace its existing equipment that no longer worked. The machines help the medical staff to monitor patients' blood pressure and pulse to see whether the patient can receive treatment.

"We didn't have enough to measure our patients' vital signs," said the hospital's Matron, Paulette Long-Carr.

"Some wards have one machine and the wards accommodate between 30 and 60 patients," added Dr. Dawkins. In an optimal scenario we should have one machine assigned to every nurse, and it's one nurse to eight patients, so if we have one for the four nurses that are there we recognise that reduces efficiency."

Procedures which should take a mere two hours to complete and be conducted routinely throughout the day take four to six hours and are done once or twice instead of routinely Dr Dawkins explained .

The St Ann's Bay Hospital was chosen for funding after a customer in the Cayman Islands, Raymond Richards, winner of the JN Money Transfer's Jamaica 50 Promotion "Jamaica Always Inna Me Heart", chose the institution as one of two to receive a donation of $100,000 from JN Money Transfer.

"This is a meaningful way to cap our Jamaica 50 celebrations, which sought to reward our customers, but also provided an opportunity and an avenue for our company and our people to play a part in shaping the next 50 years of our country one individual at a time," commented Leesa Kow, General Manager of JN Money Services Limited, which trades as JN Money Transfer globally.