The new Good Shepherd Medical Center opened its doors in Montego Bay, Jamaica, on June 6, 2018, and is serving the island’s poor and needy.
Sir Patrick Allen, the governor general of Jamaica, hosted the official opening, which was attended by supporters from South Florida, including representatives of VITAS Healthcare, a longtime supporter of the project.
Gov. Allen noted that as a teaching clinic, the medical complex would have a lasting impact on the quality of healthcare on the island.
Thanks to the continuing support of VITAS Healthcare, the center operated by Friends of Good Shepherd Foundation of Montego Bay, a local charity on the island, provides general medical care, eye care and dental services to indigent adults, children and elderly. The complex includes a chapel and nine suites for visiting teams of volunteer doctors and nurses. It is projected to serve over 30,000 residents per year.
Through mission trips beginning in 2014, staff for VITAS Healthcare, the leading provider of end-of-life care in the U.S., has dedicated time, expertise, medical and other supplies to Friends of Good Shepherd International’s charity works.
“Our staff has a commendable spirit of compassion and love for those in need in Jamaica,” says Donna Borland, VITAS general manager in Broward County. In granting a check for $5,000 to support the efforts of Friends of Good Shepherd International, Borland praised the ongoing partnership.
“We are proud to sponsor and help support this much-needed healthcare facility that serves Jamaica’s indigent communities, where no one is turned away.”
Borland offered the gift on behalf of VITAS’ Broward, Dade-Monroe and Palm Beach programs and reaffirmed their commitment to continue sending donations of food, clothing and supplies.
Marie Buteau, president of the Florida-based Friends of Good Shepherd International, paid tribute to VITAS for its continued assistance to Hope Hospice, Mustard Seed Communities (home to children with disabilities and/or HIV) and the new medical complex located in Montego Bay.
“The complex, built at a cost of $3 million, is a major accomplishment,” President Buteau said. “Efforts to fund this project began in 2011. It is a great benefit to the people of Jamaica.”
The new medical center recognized VITAS’ sponsorship with an engraved plaque naming one of the center’s medical care rooms in honor of VITAS.
For more information about VITAS services, call 877.848.2701 or visit VITAS.com.
About VITAS Healthcare
2018 marks the 40th anniversary of VITAS Healthcare, a pioneer and leader in the American hospice movement. Headquartered in Miami, Florida, VITAS (pronounced VEE-tahs) operates 45 hospice programs in 14 states (California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin) and the District of Columbia. VITAS employs 11,765 professionals who care for terminally ill patients daily, primarily in the patients’ homes, and also in the company’s 28 inpatient hospice units as well as in hospitals, nursing homes and assisted living communities/residential care facilities for the elderly. At the conclusion of the first quarter of 2018, VITAS reported an average daily census of 17,380. Visit www.vitas.com.
