WESTERN BUREAU – The Western Regional Health Authority (WRHA) has reported $45 million in damage to health facilities in the region, following the passage of Hurricane Ivan.

Hanover, St James, Trelawny and Westmoreland comprise the region, which has four public hospitals and 83 other health facilities.

A WRHA spokesman said Trelawny was hardest hit, with damage there amounting to $16.4 million. Damage to the Falmouth Health Centre accounted for $7 million of that sum, while damage to the Falmouth Hospital accounted for $4.5 million. The nurses’ quarters at the Wait-a-Bit Health Centre suffered damage amounting to $1.7 million, while damage to the Albert Town and Warsop health centres has been put at $1.2 million each. The staff cottage at Jackson Town and the health centres at Ulster Spring, Albert Town and Lowe River also suffered damage.

St James was the least affected, with damage to the Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay put at $4 million, and to the Type Five Health Clinic and nine health centres, at $1.7 million.

Hanover did not fare as well. Damage to the health facilities there has amounted to $14.7 million, with the Noel Holmes Hospital accounting for over $6 million of that sum. Damage in Westmoreland amounted to $7 million, with the Negril Health Centre and Staff Cottage the worst hit.

Meanwhile, WRHA board chairman Gordon Brown has commended the region’s health team for what he describes as their high level of commitment in the delivery of health care during and after the hurricane.

“In many instances, members of staff sacrificed being in their own homes to be readily available to patients during the turbulent hours when the winds and rain howled throughout the night,” he noted.