APPROXIMATELY 2,000 residents in Westmoreland and St Elizabeth recived free health care recently, thanks to the Don Daly Medical Mission — a 63-member team of volunteer doctors from Florida-based Nova Southeastern University.

The mission, which is in partnership with Sandals Resorts International and Sandals Foundation, saw doctors and medical students hosting 12 clinics over a four-day period treating respiratory illnesses, hypertension, diabetes, aches and pains, vision impairments, skin conditions and allergies in both adults and children. In addition to free health care, members of the community were also able to have prescriptions filled by pharmacists and receive reading glasses from optometrists.

More than 90 children from the Sandals Foundation-adopted and supported Culloden Early Childhood and Whitehouse Basic Schools also received pediatric healthcare during the initiative.

Established 13 years ago, the hugely successful programme was the brainchild of Don Daly, a Jamaican radio host in Florida and Dr Paula Anderson-Worts, a Jamaica-born doctor and associate professor of family medicine at the Nova Southeastern University. The medical mission has touched the lives of thousands across other parishes, including St Mary, St Ann, St Catherine, St James, Kingston and St Andrew.

“It is a blessing to have such a wonderful relationship with Sandals Resorts and the Sandals Foundation,” Daly said. “Chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart has always been a driving force behind our initiative and December’s mission could not have been possible without his support and that of the hotels including Sandals Whitehouse.”

He also thanked other key sponsors who made the mission possible which included MoneyGram, Jamaica National Building Society, GraceKennedy, Caribbean Airlines, Lasco and The Kingston-Miami Trading Company.