ST ELIZABETH, Jamaica — A clean-up exercise is now underway at the Santa Cruz Infirmary in St Elizabeth a month after the facility was flooded and roofs ripped off during the passing of Hurricane Melissa.

Local Government Minister Desmond McKenzie led the exercise on Thursday.

A team including representatives from the Social Development Commission (SDC), the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA), and the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) participated in clean-up and repairs activities at the infirmary.

The infirmary houses approximately 50 residents and is currently operating in a co-ed arrangement due to the severe damage on the female ward.

Matron of the Santa Cruz Infirmary, Bianca Mitchell Smith, described the support as uplifting.

“I am quite elated and happy for the response shown by the minister…especially Minister McKenzie to come and pull together this team to come and fix the infirmary,” she said.

Recalling the damage caused to the facility by Hurricane Melissa, Smith said, “All of us, to be honest, we are quite traumatised. It was a traumatic experience because we honestly did not know if we were gonna make it because of how devastating it was. The water was up to our waist,” she said.

She explained that a collapsed wall at the back of the infirmary prevented further tragedy.

“The residents, a day or two afterwards, were quite disoriented because they could not recognise the place. We had to move them to the male ward as well. So they were asking, ‘Where’s my bed, where are my things?’, because a lot of it was washed away in the floods,” she said.

Nursing and support staff worked with residents and provided emotional support.

“But slowly, you know, through counseling from our staff members themselves, they’re slowly coming back around. And they’re very excited to see all of these things happening on the compound,” Smith added.

(Video: Kasey Williams & Garfield Robinson)