Digicel to fund new cardiac centre at Bustamante Hospital

TELECOMMUNICATIONS GIANT Digicel has announced it will be funding the construction a new Paediatric Cardiac Centre of Excellence at the Bustamante Hospital for Children at a cost of $100 million.

The announcement comes as Digicel celebrates 10 years in Jamaica.

Mark Linehan, CEO of Digicel Jamaica, expressed that, "To celebrate our 10th anniversary, we wanted to find an impactful, meaningful and lasting way to say 'Thank You, Jamaica' for 10 years of fantastic support and loyalty.

"Funding the construction of a new cardiac wing at the Bustamante Hospital for Children spoke to all of this. The future of Jamaica is in the hands of our children, so it makes a lot of sense that our 'Thank You' gift to Jamaica focused on helping save the lives of children that are affected by heart disease, giving them a chance to grow up and live a full life.

"Our staff are really excited and honoured to be a part of this project and we look forward to getting it completed in the quickest time possible," Linehan said.

According to information from the Bustamante Hospital for Children, of the 400-500 children that are born with congenital heart disease each year in Jamaica, at least half of them will need medical or surgical intervention or will face premature death.

At present, the waiting list at the hospital is at least 150, with approximately 100 new patients added to the list each year. Being the only facility of its kind in the region, this new cardiac unit would go a far way in helping the hospital to complete more surgeries and, ultimately, save the lives of more children with cardiac cases, not only from Jamaica, but also children from across the region.

"The Government recognises the importance of providing quality health care to our citizens and, importantly, our children. We cannot do it alone, and will only succeed with the help of partners such as Digicel," Health Minister Rudyard Spencer said. "This is truly inspiring and a great example of how we all can work together to build our country. This donation will go a far way in assisting many of our children and their families who have been waiting for cardiac care."

He added: "I want to express my sincere thanks to Digicel for helping us to give our children a fighting chance."

Meanwhile, chairman of the board of the South East Regional Health Authority, Lyttleton 'Tanny' Shirley, said, "I am overwhelmed by this philanthropic initiative that Digicel has undertaken to partner with the Bustamante Hospital for Children to build a Paediatric Cardiac Centre of Excellence at the hospital."