ST CATHERINE, Jamaica — Spanish Town Hospital, the largest Type B public health facility in Jamaica, which is celebrating 70 years of service to the parish of St Catherine, staged a week of activities to mark the milestone.

The official week of celebrations began with a commemorative service at the Family of God Seventh-day Adventist Church in Spanish Town on June 18 – the anniversary of the establishment of the institution.

In a release, Senior Medical Officer (SMO) at the hospital, Dr Jacqueline Wright-James, said it was a great experience to be received by the congregation to celebrate the “amazing achievement and exciting milestone”.

“We used the opportunity, as a group from the hospital, to seek divine guidance and to recommit, repledge and recharge for the journey ahead,” the SMO said.

The sermon was delivered by President of the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) Professor Lincoln Edwards, who issued a charge to the staff.

The SMO said that the week of celebrations went beyond marking the history of the hospital as an iconic institution in St Catherine to recognising the hard-working, dedicated, and committed team of healthcare heroes, both past and present.

These, she noted, include “nurses, doctors, allied healthcare workers, maintenance staff, security officers – all categories of staff, because human resources are critical to the mission of the hospital”.

A special staff recognition ceremony was held during the week, and the team was also treated to a concert dubbed ‘Music in the Garden’ on Wednesday, June 22 with performances by Mr G, Wickerman, the Jamaica Defence Force (JDF) Pop Band and others.

Dr Wright-James noted that the last three years have possibly been the most tumultuous in the institution’s history because of the coronavirus pandemic.

“The volume of care was significantly higher than what we are used to, but because we have a dedicated team at the hospital, who really put their shoulders to the wheel and were committed to the task, we are able to manage all of our patients,” she said.

The week of activities culminated on Friday, June 24, with a celebration for the hospital and the staff members who have birthdays between the months of April and June.

The Spanish Town Hospital offers 21 services to residents of the second most populous parish, numbering approximately 520,000.

The secondary health facility sees roughly 90,000 patients per year, including inpatients and outpatients.