Bustamante Hospital gets $6m boost from Sandals Foundation to care for babies transferred from hurricane-hit facilities

The Sandals Foundation has donated $6 million worth of medical equipment and supplies to the Bustamante Hospital for Children to assist with the treatment of critically ill children transferred from hospitals affected by Hurricane Melissa.

The donation includes a neonatal ventilator, infusion pump, blood gas analyzer, catheters, blood pressure machines, humidifiers, nebulizer and suction machines, IV poles, exam lights and other essential items.

Bustamante Hospital is the island’s only specialist paediatric facility. It has been receiving patients from the Savanna-la-Mar Public General Hospital, Black River Hospital, Cornwall Regional Hospital, and Falmouth Hospital.

Chief Medical Officer Dr Michelle-Ann Dawson said the Bustamante Hospital has committed to accepting paediatric surgical patients, neonates, and sub-specialty cases such as cardiology and renal patients displaced by the hurricane.

“It’s going to be difficult for parents because some may have to be separated temporarily from their families, but we are also looking at how we can support the parents with care packages, with information, dialogue, and psychological support,”she said.

The foundation, the philanthropic arm of hotel company Sandals Resorts International, said it moved within days of the storm to secure the equipment in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

Executive Director Heidi Clarke said the initiative was part of the foundation’s emergency response in support of Jamaica’s healthcare system. “We are happy that with your donations yesterday, we were able to give the best care to a preterm neonate 26 weeks gestation weighing only 830g that we accepted last night," she said in a statement issued Saturday.

The donation was sourced from local suppliers Jamaica Hospital Supplies and Medical Link and was delivered within 72 hours of the request from the ministry.

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