Pledges pour in for the recovery of St. Jude Hospital
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Contact: Shannon Lebourne
Friday, September 11, 2009 – Condolences and financial commitments are continuing to pour in for the government and people of Saint Lucia in the wake of the devastating fire which paralysed the operations of the St. Jude Hospital in Vieux Fort Wednesday morning.
First Caribbean International Bank has pledged two hundred thousand dollars to the recovery effort. Since then First National Bank has contributed One Hundred Thousand Dollars and one local business man Michael Chastanet donated Thirty-Five Thousand Dollars on behalf of his group of companies.
Prime Minister Honourable Stephenson King said theses noble gestures along with commitments from regional ad international friends like the government of Taiwan will ensure that the St. Jude hospital will soon be up and running.
“This tragedy has presented us with an opportunity to mobilise the country behind a national institution which has of great repute which has contributed so much to our society. We believe that in the coming weeks we will be in a position to critically analyse the situation and put in place a technical team to conduct the necessary feasibility studies immediately to facilitate the redevelopment of the St. Jude Hospital, even greater and more modern and up to date medical services in the south,” said the Saint Lucian leader at a handover ceremony Thursday.
Three people lost their lives in the fire that consumed the surgical, recovery and laboratory wing of the St. Jude Hospital early Wednesday morning.
Prime Minister King again saluted the many doctors and nurses, volunteers, emergency personnel and ordinary Saint Lucians who assisted with rescuing patients and containing the fire. He said those individuals rose to the occasion like real patriots in a time of distress.
“From all indications the responses we have received particularly from the people in Vieux Fort and surrounding communities, doctors, nurses, volunteers and emergency personnel who came out early in the morning to support and assist in the rescue mission we must appreciate their efforts ad so we express our gratitude to those people,” the prime minister said.
In addition to the financial assistance businessman Michael Chastanet says he will be teaming up with some of his counterparts in the US to donate some portable and makeshift hospitals which he expects to arrive on island in the coming weeks.
A delegation from the Pan American Health Organisation headed by the Director Gena Watson are schedule to arrive in Saint Lucia next week Wednesday to assist government with the restoration
Several Embassies on Saint Lucia along with the governments of Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago and St. Vincent and the Grenadines have all called to express condolences and to pledge their countries support to the government and people of Saint Lucia. |
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