KINGSTON, Jamaica (CMC):
JAMAICA HAS set up an office in New York which it says will make it easier to channel health care assistance to the country.
The Jamaica Overseas Health Office (JOHO), which is now open at the Consulate General of Jamaica, 767 Third Avenue in New York (Manhattan), will initially act as a clearing house for civic, community outreach organisations, corporations and professionals wishing to assist Jamaica in the area of health care.
The office will be able to expedite the necessary paperwork and documentation through a special arrangement with the Ministry of Health in Jamaica and the Consul General's office in New York.
ACHES AND PAINS
"This arrangement seeks to get rid of the usual aches and pains usually associated with such voluntarism and hopefully will smooth out some of the kinks which have become prime concerns of the diaspora over the years," noted Dr. Basil K. Bryan, Jamaica's consul general in New York.
The new office is also expected to work closely with the Partnership for Healthy Caribbean Families and the American Cancer Society in directing Jamaicans living in New York city without major health insurance coverage, to those agencies providing free services and screenings.
"This is a definite step forward. These programmes have been works in progress for a number of years and it's good to see our hard work finally paying off," noted Sharon McLean, leader of the Jamaica Diaspora Northeast Health Sector.
Miss McLean, who will head the JOHO at the Jamaican Consulate, said she was looking forward to forging partnerships with a number of health care providers and agencies to assist in improving the health care status of Jamaicans at home and those living in the United States.
