THE Point Hill Health Centre, located in the constituency of St Catherine West Central, is to be renamed in honour of late former Deputy Prime Minister and Member of Parliament Dr Kenneth Baugh.

The operations at the type three health centre were temporarily relocated to the nearby Point Hill Community Centre to facilitate the construction of a new building, financed by the National Health Fund at a cost of $29 million.

Minister without prtfolio, with responsibility for education, youth and information, Karl Samuda made the announcement at Wednesday’s post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House.

He said Dr Baugh made significant contributions to Jamaica’s health sector as a surgeon specialist at the Cornwall Regional Hospital (CRH), as portfolio minister from 1980 to 1989, and Opposition spokesman.

Samuda said the late parliamentarian spearheaded significant outcomes in the sector including the eradication of polio and expansion of the immunisation programme.

Dr Baugh, who devoted 30 years to public service, passed away on September 1 at age 78. He was accorded an official funeral by the Government.

He was appointed a consultant in general surgery at CRH in 1976, and thereafter senior medical officer and chairman of the Professional Committee of Doctors at the institution until 1980.

Prior to these appointments, Dr Baugh was a senior registrar in general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery at the University Hospital of the West Indies.

He served as Member of Parliament for St James North West from 1980 to 1989; senator from 1989 to 1993; and Member of Parliament for St Catherine West Central from 2002 until his retirement in 2016.

For his distinguished service and contribution to Parliament, public service and medicine, Dr Baugh was conferred with Jamaica’s fourth highest national honour, the Order of Jamaica, in 2016.