MoBay Chamber planning fundraising gospel concert for Cornwall Regional Hospital

WESTERN BUREAU:

The Montego Bay Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MBCCI) has announced that it will soon hold a gospel concert as part of continued fundraising efforts in support of the Cornwall Regional Hospital’s (CRH) ongoing restoration. This follows the Chamber’s recent telethon fundraiser for the Type A hospital.

Andrea Rhule-Hudson, one of the MBCCI’s directors and the chairman of the newly formed Cornwall Regional Hospital Committee, made the announcement on Thursday during the MBCCI’s visit to the hospital’s site in Mount Salem, St James, to assess the restoration work which has been done there to date.

DATE TO BE ANNOUNCED

Speaking to journalists during the site visit, Rhule-Hudson said that the concert, the planning for which is currently ongoing, was originally intended to close off the MBCCI’s telethon which was held in April to raise $50 million for the purchasing of much-needed equipment for the CRH.

“We are going to be continuing with our telethon in the form of a gospel concert, and we want the support of the public to raise more funds because there are going to be ongoing needs of the hospital that we would like to fulfil. We wanted to climax the telethon with a gospel concert, but that did not get to be fulfilled in the MBCCI’s last administration, so we have carried it forward to this administration,” Rhule-Hudson explained.

“We will be having the concert at Sam Sharpe Square in Montego Bay, but we have not decided on a date as yet because this new administration of the MBCCI was recently formed. At our next meeting we should have some information to share,” Rhule-Hudson added.

During the MBCCI’s annual general meeting in May, newly-installed President Oral Heaven vowed that the oversight of the CRH’s restoration would be high on his agenda for his presidential tenure.

The hospital, which was originally built in 1974, has been undergoing renovations since February 2017, when several departments had to be evacuated from its first three floors due to noxious fumes from the building’s ventilation system. The issue had previously arisen in September 2016, resulting in the hospital’s accident and emergency department being vacated at the time.

Prior to Thursday’s visit to the CRH, the MBCCI had donated $5 million through its telethon for the hospital to purchase equipment for various departments. Among the items which the hospital currently needs are cots for infants in the paediatric ward, lab equipment, and personal protective gear, plus other items for the accident and emergency department.

NO SET ENTRY FEE

Speaking further on the proposed gospel fundraising concert, Rhule-Hudson said that patrons will not be given a specific dollar figure for entry to the venue or for donations to the CRH.

“The admission will be via donation, and we will be leaving it to your heart to give. We do not want to tie you to a figure; you might want to give $5,000, and then we might tell you it is $100 at the gate, so we do not want to do that. We want persons to give, because you are giving to a worthy cause, which is the hospital,” said Rhule-Hudson.

Meanwhile, Dr Derek Harvey, CRH’s senior medical officer, lauded the MBCCI for its efforts to assist with the hospital’s restoration, even as he called for more support from other entities.

“This partnership with the MBCCI is one which has been ongoing for a long time. It started out in their previous administration where we were beneficiaries of things like personal protective gear, and they have been very supportive by making their calls and providing food items,” said Harvey. “We welcome all partnerships to the CRH, as long as they are positive. We are undergoing refurbishing and it is a prolonged process, but while that is going on we continue to give care.”