MONTEGO BAY, St James — Charitable organisation We Care for Cornwall Regional Hospital on Monday received cash and pledges totalling US$30,000 to help finance much needed equipment for the paediatric ward of the Montego Bay-based medical institution.

Held under the theme ‘Give a Christmas gift to the babies’, the event unfolded at the Montego Bay Yacht Club and pulled several members of the business community who made generous contributions to the cause.

The fund-raiser formed part of the organisation’s plan to raise US$1.8 million over the next 12 months to improve medical care on the hospital’s paediatric ward as well as its Accident & Emergency department and its surgical ward.

In his brief address at the function, Adam Stewart, co-chair of We care for Cornwall Regional Hospital, told the gathering that the organisation’s target was achievable.

“It really sounds like a lot of money. But when you spread it across hundreds of people — and we are going to have a number of events like this in a year — it is possible…It is not as hard as some people may think,” he argued.

Stewart noted that the group’s mandate was “not to employ doctors and nurses and fix bits of the operation that are going to require funding on an ongoing basis, but our idea is to put in some tangibles and the Government of Jamaica will find ways to employ the doctors and nurses that the hospital needs”.

Cornwall Regional Hospital, which serves the island’s western parishes, was built in 1974. It provides medical care to roughly 7,500 adults on a monthly basis. Last year, some 7,000 paediatric cases were attended to at the institution, which is said to be under-staffed and ill-equipped.

Eleanor Miller, a director of We care for Cornwall Regional Hospital, told the Observer West that the organisation was formed earlier this year after several members of the Montego Bay business community became aware of the conditions under which medical care is administered at the facility.

She said the group was working closely with the administration to identify areas of priority. She explained, however, that the paediatric ward would be at the top of the list because “it’s one of the departments that is probably the easiest to fix, although the needs are very great”.

Observer West checks have revealed that among the ward’s pressing needs are ventilators, nebulisers, suction machines, a vital signs monitor, computers, a children’s playroom and bathroom fixtures.

It will take US$170,000 to furnish those needs, said Miller.

Other planned fund-raising events will include a seafood festival to be held in Montego Bay next Easter. Persons wishing to make contributions to the organisation may write to: wecareforcrh@gmail.com