St James residents to benefit from free medical services
Published:Thursday | December 9, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Thomas, Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
A medical mission from Florida will this weekend deliver free medical services to residents of East Central St James.
Additionally, thousands of children from the constituency will be hosted at their annual Christmas treat by Member of Parliament Edmund Bartlett.
The mission, which is expected to reach hundreds of residents of the constituency, follows last year's successful inaugural staging of the event, in which more than 1,200 persons were given medical, dental and other services.
"This is our way of showing our people that we care about their health and well-being," said Carmen Bartlett, the member pf parliament's wife and the mission's chief organiser.
She added: "We have been blessed to be able to bring this very big medical team to Jamaica at a time when their services are in demand back in Florida.
"However, the doctors and nurses have committed their services to the people of East Central St James and sections of Westmoreland and St Elizabeth, for a week, where we are expecting to see a larger group of people that we saw last year."
The group will open the mission on Sunday when staff members of the Iberostar Resort in St James and members of the Ketto Adventist Church in Westmoreland will be treated.
On Monday, they will visit the medical clinics in Hopeton, Springmount and Somerton; and on Tuesday, they will attend to residents of Barrett Town and Adelphi at the Riverside Church in East Central St James.
The team will then head into Westmoreland on Wednesday to target residents of Springfield and Green Valley Apostolic Church as well as neighbouring Pisgah in St Elizabeth. They will close out the week in St Elizabeth at the Moravian Church in Ballards Valley, the Salvation Army Medical Centre in Top Hill and the Slipe Primary School.
Meanwhile, the Rose Hall Resort's playing field will be the venue for the annual Christmas Treat staged by Bartlett on Saturday, starting midday. Some 3,000 children from across East Central St James will be fêted by the tourism minister.
"I am extremely happy that despite the economic recession the committee of East Central St James has been able to pull together the necessary support to stage the treat this year," said Minister Bartlett.