A healthcare mission drawn from the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut areas will arrive in the island on September 3 for a 10-day visit. The more than 30 healthcare professionals, headed by Dr Robert Clarke, chief medical adviser for the Northeast Diaspora, will be under the auspices of Help Jamaica Medical Mission, which has been conducting healthcare missions in Jamaica since 2010. They will carry out health screenings across some six parishes while in the island.
Parishes to be visited include Manchester, Clarendon, St Catherine, Kingston and St Thomas. On September 6, the health mission will be at the Yallahs Primary School, teaming up with Advance Service Station, to provide medical screenings for members of the community. Last year, more than 1,000 people turned up at the Yallahs Primary School to get screened.
Health screenings
The Help Jamaica Medical Mission works closely with the Ministry of Health and Wellness in putting on the various screenings. The Jamaica Urban Transit Company, in partnership with the mission, provides ground transportation for members of the mission. Health personnel on the mission will screen patients for diabetes, high blood pressure, infectious diseases, health problems, all medical issues and gynaecological issues. Back-to-school screenings will also be carried out for students.
Mission members refer patients to health centres for follow-up visits, where warranted. The mission will be comprised of several doctors, drawn from across a number of specialisations, as well as other health practitioners, including nurses, dental hygienists and eye specialists. Clarke pointed out that the organisation has been conducting missions to Jamaica over the last 11 years and has provided medical assistance to approximately 500,000 patients over the past decade. He, with the assistance of Dr Rudolph Willis, founded the Help Jamaica Medical Mission with the aim of providing healthcare services to Jamaicans in need.
He emphasised that the team comprises volunteer specialist doctors and nurses from New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. Clarke said the mission has been dedicated to providing free, high-quality healthcare services to those in desperate need, having served thousands of Jamaicans over the years.
“We will go to the people to provide medical assistance instead of their having to travel many miles to see us. We find that visiting local communities ensure that more people will receive service instead of their having to come to where we are in one central location,” he told The Gleaner.
Clarke, who previously served as the president of the National Association of Jamaican and Supportive Organizations (NAJASO), estimated that the New York/New Jersey Medical Mission has invested between US$1 million and US$5 million in delivering medical services to underserved communities in Jamaica.
Clarke serves as the medical director at several hospitals and nursing homes in New Jersey, including Silver Lake Hospital in Newark, New Jersey. Additionally, he holds the position of physician adviser at three other hospitals in New Jersey, and serves as an attending physician at two nursing homes in the state. He also operates a private medical practice at East Orange Medical.
Clarke, who received membership in the Order of Distinction for his work in helping the country during the COVID-19 pandemic, recently opened a private practice on Belmont Road in New Kingston, to better serve the patients he has in Jamaica.