The 52-year-old Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital in Westmoreland has received a variety of medical supplies and furniture valued at over US$6,000 from the United States-based, non-profit organisation, The World Is Our Neighbourhood.

The donation was made recently after Marva Haye, a former employee of the hospital who now resides in the United States (US), made contact with the non-profit organisation, following reports of challenges that are being experienced at the State-run facility.

“My mom had to come to the hospital, and my sisters told me about the conditions that they were faced with… and that’s when I decided to start the project [make contact with the group],” Haye explained.

She added that the aim is to make the Savanna-la-Mar Hospital the best in the western region.

“The idea is to make this the best hospital to come to in this western area. That’s the plan. That’s the mission,” stated an optimistic Haye, stressing that “the public hospitals are just deplorable and we need to fix them. And it’s not a blame game now, it’s like how can we fix them, and it starts here with just a small donation”.

Founder and president of the World Is Our Neighbourhood, Catherine Haala, said all areas of the hospital would benefit from the donation.

“We pretty much have supplies for every area of the hospital, including: surgical, orthopaedics, gynaecology, maternity, chemotherapy, wound care, special units. We have drapery for the hospital, we have linen for the hospital, and we also have things such as toothbrushes, toothpaste and lotions and that sort of things that the patient should be able to use,” disclosed Haala.

She said the organisation receives funding from a raft of fund-raising events and donations in the US, adding that she has also written a series of children’s books, and 50 per cent ot the proceeds go towards the foundation.

Hospital Administrator Tanesia Tomlinson argued that while she cannot affix a dollar value to the donation, “the patient experience is what counts, and this will add more value in the service that we offer here at Savanna-la-Mar.”

The new chairman of the hospital management board, Eric Clarke, was overwhelmed with the quality of the items.

“Dr Alfred Dawes has been recently appointed as the senior medical officer here in Savanna-la-Mar; and just this week [recently] we were talking about trying to get contributions, not only local, but internationally, for the hospital, for we really want to carry the Savanna-la-Mar Public Hospital to a higher level,” Clarke argued.

“And the shipment today [recently] is absolutely fantastic. I could not have expected it to be so good. When you look in the boxes, they are brand new items — supplies that are well- needed.”