It was again our pleasure to serve the people of Jamaica with our medical mission from Saturday, February 6, until Thursday, February 18. Our team of 59 had a wonderful time in Manchester and St. Elizabeth. Our team consisted of 4 physicians, 1 nurse practitioner, 6 dentists, 1 dental hygienist, 3 pharmacists, 10 registered nurses, and 34 general helpers. About 2/3 of the participants had been on a team before and 1/3 were new. We stayed at Kendal Camp and Conference Center and were transported each day to different areas of the parish by Mr. Patrick MacDowell and his staff.
This year we held medical clinics in 15 different locations in the parishes and dental clinics in 10 locations. In the medical clinics, we saw 1,346 patients and dispensed 2,630 prescriptions. In the dental clinics, 365 patients were seen with 73 restorations, 293 extractions, and 78 cleanings done and sealants applied to 241 teeth.
Two members of our team (an RN and an EMT/Instructor) taught two classes to ambulance personnel at Mandeville Hospital.
Our construction team worked at Gift of Hope (a Mustard Seed Community) in Spur Tree and built a shelter to be used for therapy services. They also worked at Ebenezer Home on their new slaughterhouse and the goat pen fence. Painting was also done on buildings at Stone’s Hope (YWAM) and at Kendal Camp.
The Rotarians on our team continue to network with the Rotary Clubs in Mandeville and Christiana in hopes of securing more funding for future projects in Jamaica. This year $2,000 was contributed by a Rotary Club in Pennsylvania for our construction project at Gift of Hope.
We were assisted this year by MOH staff in getting our medications through customs and that process was quite smooth. Special thanks go to Ms. Anderson and Mr. Batiesse for their help. Unfortunately, we had to pay more than J$12,500 in customs fees this year. This, of course, reduces the amount of money we have to spend on medications to give to the patients in the clinics and seems counter-productive.
