MANDEVILLE, Manchester – With the number of patients admitted to Mandeville Regional Hospital trending downwards in recent weeks, the facility’s chief administrator says Saturday’s donation of 44 beds will bring a greater degree of comfort to patients.

“The count up to yesterday [Friday] was approximately 320 patients, so numbers have come down a bit — still a little bit above our normal average — but we are doing our best to accommodate,” Mandeville Regional Hospital Chief Executive Officer Alwyn Miller told journalists on Saturday during the handover of the beds by representatives of the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation and Project CURE.

In the aftermath of Category Five Hurricane Melissa, which made landfall on October 28, 2025, the regional hospital served as a rescue centre for patients who were transferred from hospitals in the west and south, particularly Black River Hospital.

“The normal [patient] average prior to the hurricane was in the proximity of about 275 and, since the hurricane, the highest it has gone to is about 361. Our team is working assiduously; we have decided to go the route of using other strategies to try and manage and treat the patients and to discharge them as soon as possible,” Miller said in response to a question posed by the Jamaica Observer.

He expressed gratitude to the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation, Project CURE, and Just a Bunch of Roadies for making the donation of the beds possible.

“We are, indeed, very grateful for these beds. They will serve as replacements for some beds that we have on the wards that need to be replaced, and additional beds in some cases. These will go a far way in strengthening our ability to accommodate our patients in a more comfortable…and appropriate environment. We are grateful that they have considered Mandeville Regional Hospital to be a recipient of these beds,” he said, shortly after watching the unloading of beds from a container hauled by Zoukie Trucking.

Kenisha Gibson, representing the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation and Project CURE, said Mandeville Regional Hospital and Savanna-la-Mar General Public Hospital benefited from a combined donation of 124 beds.

“We are doing 44 beds for Mandeville and then Savanna-la-Mar public hospital, they will get 80 beds, and then later on we will have other hospitals to distribute to as well…” she said while pointing out that Just a Bunch of Roadies handled the logistics and transportation of the beds.

WATCH: 

(Video: Kasey Williams)

Chief executive officer at the Mandeville Regional Hospital Alwyn Miller (fifth left) and Kenisha Gibson (fifth right) are joined by representatives of the Shaggy Make a Difference Foundation, Just a Bunch of Roadies and Zoukie Trucking teams in posing for a photo with one of 44 beds donated to the hospital on Saturday. Photo: Kasey Williams