FOR families across Jamaica facing a child’s heart diagnosis, the cost of surgery can be the difference between hope and heartbreak.

Supreme Ventures Foundation (SVF) is working to close that gap, recently donating $2.1 million to Chain of Hope Jamaica, the region’s first dedicated paediatric cardiac centre, located on the grounds of the Bustamante Hospital for Children.

“No child’s chance at life should depend on their family’s ability to pay,” said Heather Goldson, executive director of Supreme Ventures Foundation.

“Through this donation, we are proud to partner with Chain of Hope Jamaica to mend little hearts across Jamaica and to give hope to families who otherwise do not have the means to access this critical treatment,” added Goldson.

Diane Edwards, board chair of Chain of Hope Jamaica, expressed gratitude for the contribution.

“We are overjoyed and deeply grateful to the Supreme Ventures Foundation. This is an important donation to us, and one of the biggest we’ve received in recent times. It will save children’s lives by helping to cover the attendant costs of the surgical interventions being done by our team here.”

Chain of Hope Jamaica operates the first dedicated paediatric cardiac centre in the English-speaking Caribbean and is home to a 10-bed intensive care unit, an operating theatre, and a biplane catheterisation laboratory.

Since 2007, the organisation has treated over 1,300 children and performed more than 670 free cardiac procedures, working alongside local and international partners to build sustainable cardiac care for Jamaica and the Caribbean.

Dr Sherard Little, thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon at the centre, noted the significance of the donation to the team’s work.

“The equipment required for this kind of surgery is extremely expensive, so this contribution will go a long way toward acquiring the tools we need to effectively do what we do here at Chain of Hope,” said Dr Little.

“When we operate on these children, we change not only their lives but their families’ lives too. The work our team does here helps so many children with cardiac disease go on to live fruitful and productive lives,” Dr Little added.

Meanwhile, Goldson pointed out that this latest contribution reaffirms Supreme Ventures’ enduring commitment to investing in the health and well-being of Jamaica’s most vulnerable children, and to partnering with organisations doing critical, life-saving work across the island.

Through the foundation, Supreme Ventures Limited continues to invest in initiatives that strengthen health-care infrastructure and expand access to critical medical services for vulnerable children and families islandwide.