Ministry of Health

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The Cornwall Regional Hospital in Montego Bay St. James is to benefit from neonatal equipment valued at $1,780,000 (US$20,000) from Jamaican Women of Washington, Inc. (JWoW).

The equipment includes infant warmers, bilirubinometers, which are used to test infants for jaundice, and pulseoximeters, which measure blood oxygen levels.

JWoW president, Dr. Jackie Watson told JIS News that the money to purchase the equipment was raised at a recent event held at the residence of the Jamaican Ambassador to the United States, His Excellency Anthony Johnson. She said that the decision to purchase the equipment, which will be delivered to the hospital shortly, was in response to a request from the Cornwall Regional Hospital.

JWoW's 2009 fundraising theme - Breath of Life: Reduce Infant Mortality & Save Lives - shines the spotlight on infant mortality in Jamaica and the District of Columbia.

Dr. Watson said statistics show that several factors, including poverty, poor nutrition, inadequate prenatal care, teen pregnancy, stress, obesity, low birth weight, and prematurity, contribute to the problem. She pointed out that access to basic but essential life-saving neonatal equipment will help to save lives.

"We were compelled to act as women, as mothers, and as concerned citizens of a global village. We believe that every child deserves an equal and fighting chance to a quality life," she stated.

A non-profit, charitable organisation in Washington, D.C, JWoW's mission is to provide support to improve the health and quality of life of women, children, and families in Jamaica as well as in Washington, D.C.

Over the past five years, JWoW has contributed US$175,000 to a number of charitable organisations in Jamaica, including the Combined Disabilities Association; University of the West Indies (UWI) Development and Endowment Fund; Jamaica AIDS Support; Mensana Community for the Upliftment of the Mentally Ill; Westmoreland Association of Street People; Children First; Women's Media Watch; Family and Parenting Centre; and Western Society for Upliftment of Children.

Some 80 golf enthusiasts as well as members of the organisation were in Montego Bay last month for the staging of their 5th annual 'Tee-Off For the Health of It' golf tournament and business development symposium entitled 'THINK GREEN'.

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