MANDEVILLE, Manchester:

Before Calvin and Sylvia Lyn took ownership of the Hargreaves Memorial Hospital, the establishment was in a debilitating state and many thought those who sought to invest in it would be making a big mistake.

But through their vision and passion for nation building, the Lyns have exceeded the expectations of many by restructuring the hospital into a modern-day health-care facility with services second to none.

At a function to commemorate the hospital’s 10th anniversary recently, the Mayor of Mandeville, Brenda Ramsay, hailed the management team for making great local health-care services possible.

“There is no doubt that because of their keen business acumen we are experiencing delivery of quality health care in keeping with the demands of the populace. There are many challenges, but you have demonstrated that we can receive good health care locally and it is not necessary to seek it either in Kingston or overseas,” she said

With more than 80 members of staff, 55 specialists, a new consultancy wing used by specialists in neurosurgery, cardiology, and rheumatology, a new wing (Vision of Hope), a two-storey medical complex with 18 suites, X-ray units, and the only facility in Jamaica with a 64-slice CT machine, among other services, Hargreaves Memorial is redefining how health services are being offered in Jamaica.

TREND WILL CONTINUE

As the new operating theatre for the hospital undergoes construction, Consultant Neurosurgeon Dr Roger Hunter is hoping that the trend of no deaths during a surgical procedure at the hospital will continue.

“We were able to do the first keyhole spinal fixation (surgery) in Jamaica right here at Hargreaves on a 94-year-old woman. We have done over 60 operations and partnerships. Through general surgery and neurosurgery, we have done nearly 150, and we have not had a single death or a single paralysed patient, and we are going to continue to build on these partnerships,” Hunter said.

In commending the entrepreneurial propensities of the Lyns, Member of Parliament for North East Manchester Audley Shaw noted the importance of the private sector in the development of a country.

“The truth is, to build a sustainable-health care system, it can’t be all about Government, and one of the things that characterises the health-care system in modern countries is that a big part of the health-care system is run by the public sector and run in an efficient way,” Shaw said.

Chairman of the Southern Regional Health Authority Wayne Chen, who deputised for Minister of Health

Dr Christopher Tufton as guest speaker, commended the Lyns but noted that the public sector had to improve on health care by better leveraging the current resources.

Three doctors and eight members of staff who served the facility for more than 30 years were awarded for their unwavering service.