Joseph Cunningham, Gleaner Writer"WHEN WE host our banquets, we don't do so for a splash, we do so to actually raise funds," says chairman of the Jamaica Medical Foundation (JMF) Oliver Jones.
According to Mr. Jones, the foundation's mission is to provide financial support for medical research, and to assist individuals, groups and or institutions in tackling medical problems common to the Jamaican society. It also assists with the funding of public health education.
COMMITMENT TOWARDS DEVELOPMENT
According to member of the Board of Trustees and the fund-raising committee, Tommy James, "bringing world-famous paediatric neurosurgeon Ben Carson to Jamaica, is an example of the JMF's commitment towards the development of health care and public health awareness in Jamaica."
Through sound financial stewardship, the JMF's fund currently amounts to $2 million.
A long list of individual beneficiaries ranging from open heart surgery to prosthesis (artificial body parts) are living testimonies of the volunteerism of the JMF.
When Miriam Woodburn, the principal's secretary at DeCarteret College, lost her left leg in a motor
vehicle accident, she had two options - walk on a crouch or get an artificial leg.
When her artificial leg broke in 2003, she searched tirelessly for a replacement.
"I was looking for sponsors for a new prosthesis, and while many organisations were not able to assist, the Jamaica Medical Foundation responded to me within a few months," she said.
The foundation contributed J$50,000 towards the expense.
APLASTIC ANAEMIA
Howard Morgan suffers from an aplastic anaemia, the disease where the body stops producing blood cells. According to his sister Andrea Baker, treatment was only available overseas and so the family sought financial aid but received no response from local organisations.
Although frustrated she decided to make a final application, sending a letter to the JMF to which they responded, the following morning.
Thanks in part to the JMF's contribution Howard is now being treated at the National Institute of Health in Maryland in the United States.
Other major JMF beneficiaries are the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) which received funding for dialysis machines, and the University Hospital of the West Indies, which received $250,000 towards its Diabetic Research Unit.