Windward Medical transforms healthcare in East Kingston with grant from DBJ

Windward Medical Centre, a one-stop medical centre focused on preventive care in the underserved and vulnerable communities, has upgraded its facility with more advanced technology to tackle health equity issues in East Kingston through help from the Development Bank of Jamaica, DBJ.

The health facility which has been providing care for the residents in the surrounding areas of Windward Road in Kingston for more than 30 years, has received $13.5 million from the DBJ‘s Innovative Grant Fund programme (IGF) 2020, through its parent company, InterMed Company Limited.

IGF is set up under the Boosting Innovation Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystems Programme, called BIGEE, to support the development of new products and services, implementation of new business models, and market entry or expansion for medium businesses.

Windward Medical was one of three companies to share $37 million in grant funding from the Government agency whose core function is to foster economic growth and development of strategic sectors of the economy.

Programme Manager for the BIGEE, Chris Brown shared “InterMed was one of three companies selected from a list of over 100 applicants because of the work Windward Medical is doing to transform healthcare in low-income communities and its scope for growth.”

Brown added, “Windward Medical has proven to be an excellent client of the DBJ, having hit all the project milestones while maintaining timeliness in meeting all report requirements, as well as having an open line for communication.” Windward Medical has spent the past two years undertaking a $20-million expansion plan, $13.5 million or 68 per cent of which was funded by the grant provided by the DBJ.

The grant funding was disbursed in four tranches over the period, and was used to finance Windward Medical’s digitalisation programme, an outreach programme on preventive care and health literacy, as well as the refurbishing of an area of the facility to expand its non-invasive surgical service offerings.

Director of InterMed, Dr David Walcott, said, “The digitalisation of health records at Windward Medical has been beneficial in numerous ways. Not only has it created greater efficiency in our services and reduced storage space, but importantly, the digitalisation programme helps us to respond to health threats in a more organised manner.

“Quick access to patient’s medical histories and test results has allowed us to make more informed decision about patient care, which can also improve patient’s outcome and create a better overall medical experience,” added Dr Walcott.

The digitalisation drive has also flagged patient-level preventive care gaps, tracked outreach efforts, and documented the delivery of preventive services throughout the community.

PREVENTIVE CARE

In many instances, large segments of low-income communities shy away from the hospitals or health departments and only about half of recommended preventive services are received by the adult population. The reasons span from the inability to afford quality health care, discomfort of physical examinations and the fear of having serious illness.

However, Windward Medical through funding provided by the DBJ, undertook a series of community engagement initiatives targeted at promoting health literacy and preventative care in the surrounding communities.

Cash was also directed towards the build out of a new operating theatre, relieving patients of the physical and financial burden of having to visit more expensive medical facilities for non-invasive surgical procedures.

Brown said, “We are truly impressed by Windward Medical’s effort to provide surgical care to residents of these vulnerable communities at an affordable cost and right in their backyard. They saw the need for an operating room at their facility, put together a plan and executed on that vision.”

Dr Walcott added, “Myself and the staff at Windward Medical are truly grateful to be chosen as a recipient of the grant provided the DBJ. This funding has not only provided us with an opportunity to provide better health care to the residents of East Kingston but allows to keep our doors open and to provide quality employment opportunities to some of the brightest minds in Jamaica.”

Windward Medical has been serving the eastern Kingston communities since 1988. Its services include family care and specialist services in obstetrics and gynaecology, internal medicine, paediatrics, dermatology and general surgery. Ambulatory surgical procedures are also performed at the medical facility.