MONTEGO BAY, St. James (September 29, 2017): Hundreds of persons are expected to benefit from free medical services at the 24th annual Atlanta-Montego Bay Sister Cities Health Mission, which is to be hosted at the St. John’s Methodist Community Action Centre at Humber Avenue in Montego Bay from October 9 to 11, 2017.
Approximately 30 volunteers inclusive of medical practitioners, nurses and other nonmedical personnel will arrive in Montego Bay starting October 7, 2017, to participate in the health fair, which was renamed in 2014 in honour of the late, Honourable Vin Martin, former Chair of the Atlanta Chapter of the Sister Cities Committee and Jamaica’s Honorary Consul in Atlanta.
The visiting practitioners will be joined in Montego Bay by local physicians, nurses and scores of non-medical volunteers.
Members of the public will be able to access free health services between 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. daily. Specialists in the field of Ophthalmology, Gynecology & Obstetrics, Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, Dentistry, Nursing, and Pharmacology will be in attendance at the health fair, which will run up to Wednesday, October 11, 2017.
According to Mayor of Montego Bay, Councillor Homer Davis, the annual Health Fair has benefited thousands across western Jamaica and St. James in particular, and the service has always been high quality.
“It is surely a pleasure to host the team of medical professionals – from overseas and locally – here in our parish for yet another year; we in St. James are appreciative of the invaluable contribution that our volunteers have made over the years to our people through this programme,” Stated Mayor Davis at a Committee meeting held at the Municipal Corporation on Tuesday, September 26, 2017.
The mission team will be led by Dr. Yvonne Smith, new Head of Mission and the Sister Cities Committee in Atlanta. Mayor Davis and Chairman of the Montego Bay Chapter of the Sister Cities Committee, local businessman, Mr. Fred Smith, will host the visiting group of volunteers.
The Atlanta-Montego Bay Sister Cities Committee is one of eighteen members of the Atlanta Sister Cities Commission and is the oldest Caribbean group in the City of Atlanta. It is also facilitated by the Ministry of Health and the St. James Health Department, and is one of the major events staged to coincide with Montego Bay’s celebration of its city status.
Approximately 50 thousands residents of Montego Bay and its environs have been served by the health mission over the past twenty three years and approximately JM$100 million of medical supplies and services have been donated by the health committee.
