Adelphi residents grateful for reopened community health centre
Published:Thursday | October 24, 2024 | 12:09 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Residents of Adelphi and surrounding communities in St James are now heaping praise on the Government for the reopening of the Adelphi Health Centre, which will provide convenient healthcare and a wide range of medical services to the more than 2,000 patients served by the clinic each month.
The health centre, which was originally opened in 2020, replacing an older dilapidated structure, was reopened by Health Minister Dr Christopher Tufton in an official ceremony last Thursday, which was attended by officials from the St James Health Department, the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), and the European Union (EU).
The reopened facility was constructed at a cost of $64 million and is one of 11 health centres in St James recently revamped under the Ministry of Health’s Operation Refresh programme.
Debbie Dixon, a resident of Content district, which adjoins Adelphi, told The Gleaner that she is pleased that the health centre is now offering dental services as it will save her and others the expense, which they would normally incur travelling to Montego Bay to have their dental procedures done.
“We are happy that the health centre has moved from a Type 1 centre to a Type 2 facility, as it gives us more convenience and, on top of it, we are getting a dentist, so we do not have to travel to Catherine Hall in Montego Bay for that anymore,” said Dixon. “We will also have a pharmacist, we have more space, and you can get through much faster, because as you reach the customer service desk, the service is there. We thank Minister [of Tourism Edmund] Bartlett and [Minister of Health] Dr [Christopher] Tufton for this.”
Opal Turner, who hails from Orange district, which is a 10-minute drive from Adelphi, said she was happy for the shorter distance she can now travel to fill prescriptions as opposed to going to pharmacies in Montego Bay, and especially since the pharmacy will be open five days per week.
“I feel happy, very happy about this, and the health centre is well equipped, because you can carry your children here and they get their attention [treatment]. Plus, when I get my prescription, I do not have to think about going to J&J Pharmacy in Montego Bay anymore; I can just get the medication same place up here, and it is free of cost,” said Turner.
In addition to dentistry and pharmacy services, the health centre will also serve as a referral site for child health services, maternity care, and nebulisation treatment. Doctors will be available at the facility five days per week. Additionally, the building now has an expanded waiting area and a generator for continuous storing of vaccines as needed.
During the health centre’s reopening ceremony, Tufton said the facility’s development would not have been possible without the collaborative efforts of the EU, JSIF, and the local health authorities.
“This is a $65-million project, so it is not a small amount of money that has been spent here to create an attractive environment and one with utility that is going to provide for the people of this community and its environs,” said Tufton.
“We want to thank the EU and the poverty alleviation programme that was devised in conjunction with JSIF for pulling this together, with the Ministry of Health and the local team on the ground. It is a collaborative effort, it is about partnership, and public health only survives if we have partnership,” he added.