UHWI Field Hospital Ready – IGL Donates US$12,000
Press Release
UHWI Field Hospital Ready – IGL Donates US$12,000
Kingston, September 24, 2021 – The University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) field hospital is ready to begin accommodating Covid-19 patients this weekend Dr. Carl Bruce, Consultant Neurosurgeon & Medical Chief of Staff has said.
Updating IGL’s Managing Director, Peter Graham as he presented his company’s cheque for US$12,000 yesterday (23-9-21), Dr. Bruce said “we have space ready for at least 48 beds now. We have special areas designed including resuscitation rooms and separate sections for confirmed Covid-19 cases and unconfirmed patients. We are not mixing them.”
Thanking IGL for their donation, Dr. Bruce said that “the contributions by you and other corporate organizations have been instrumental in getting this facility up and running in record time. Our wards, our waiting areas and emergency areas have all been overrun and we are elated to have more appropriate accommodations for our patients and our staff. Even before Covid-19 we were sometimes challenged to find beds for all who needed them. So this expanded capacity is most welcome.”
Mr. Graham said that “IGL was happy for the opportunity to contribute to the wellbeing of Jamaicans in Covid-19. We have been on the frontline with medical practitioners providing critical Medial Oxygen supplies and share the ongoing challenges of your team and those of hospitals across the country.”
The field hospital came in response to a call early September for assistance from the hospital to the private sector which was spearheaded by Chief Executive Officer of RJR Gleaner Communications Group, Gary Allen and his Chief Operating Officer, Christopher Barnes.
Featuring hard wall units, the aim is to have over 27 of them on the UHWI grounds, providing for over 60 beds on final completion.
Paediatric Ward At The Princess Margaret Hospital
As the leading supplier of medical gases in Jamaica, it is only natural that IGL through its Ignite IGL Foundation would want to play their part in improving the health sector. Thus the adoption of the Paediatric Ward at Princess Margaret Hospital was born.
IGL Limited through Ignite IGL Foundation has been a key partner of Princess Margaret Hospital, with their association going back to 2015, when the Foundation spearheaded a J$1.2 million renovation of the Pediatric Ward. The work included interior painting; refurbishing beds, bedside tables, the nurses’ station and play area; installation of ceiling fans and storage cupboards, as well as painting a mural.
The Pediatric Ward at the Princess Margaret Hospital in St. Thomas, Jamaica was officially adopted by IGL Limited in 2016.
Since that that time, annual donations of much needed equipment and refurbishing of the ward has been committed to with an annual budget of approximately $500,000.
COVID-19 Community Outreach Program
In an effort to tackle the negative effects caused from the coronavirus pandemic, IGL implement a CSR Community Outreach Program in May 2020.
The IGL team along with the assistance of the Jamaica Red Cross moved house to house to ensure resources got to those who were shut in. By the end of May, the volunteers had delivered packages to 450 families, valued at over JM $600,000 to nine parishes – Kingston & St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Portland, Westmoreland, St. James, St. Elizabeth, St. Mary and St. Ann – and 11 communities in which IGL operates.
Essential staples were delivered to the elderly, those living with disabilities, and low-income earners.
