MONTEGO BAY , St James — The Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH) received a boost last week with the donation of $1million from Summerfest Productions, promoters of Reggae Sumfest and sponsors Red Stripe.

The donation was channelled through the We Care for Cornwall Regional Hospital fund which was established two years ago by members of the Montego Bay business community.

During a ceremony at CRH in which the cheque was handed over, one of We Care’s directors, Mark Hart, noted a growth in the support for the hospital and the charitable fund.

“We are seeing a great increase in momentum of support for the hospital. As a community we realise that the hospital is at the heart of the health of the community, not only for the citizens in Montego Bay, but also for the visitors that we have encouraged to come and visit Montego Bay . They need to know that they can rely on the facility as a first response in the event of any kind of medical issues, emergencies and catastrophes that could arise,” Hart remarked.

“Sumfest is a Montego Bay group which has a long history here and we are really happy that they have come on board because, without Cornwall Regional Hospital, the community of Montego Bay and St James is at risk. We have to have a hospital that is capable of dealing with the requirements with what we are promoting ourselves — which is a very progressive city in the Caribbean — the top tourist destination,” Hart added.

Robert Russell, chairman of Summerfest Productions, argued that it was mandatory for the company to live up to its corporate responsibilities.

“We felt it is incumbent on us to make this donation to the hospital and that is why we are here and I want to congratulate all the people that came together to help continue to help this hospital, because without the help it would not be able to continue,” Russell said.

Anthony Smikle, acting CEO of CRH said the donation would go a far way.

“We Care has made a difference in life of the hospital. They have stepped in at critical points when we would have been focusing on other major projects. To run a hospital of this magnitude takes a lot and some of the smaller equipment really can’t be neglected, and this type of intervention initiatives assist us to be able to carry out our duties totally at this hospital. It is very, very critical that we continue to get such support from the community,” Smikle said.