The Bustamante Hospital for Children has received a generous donation of more than $3.1 million from the Sandals Foundation to support critical renovations to the hospital’s Nursery Department - a move aimed at reducing the risk of infection and significantly enhancing the life-saving care provided to Jamaica’s most vulnerable patients.

As part of the project, the Sandals Foundation installed six air conditioning units to improve air quality and comfort for both patients and staff. Additional upgrades include the partitioning of the counselling office from patient care areas to enhance privacy, along with carpentry, tiling, and other infrastructural repairs carried out in collaboration with SERHA and the Sandals Foundation.

The upgraded facility is expected to serve between 800 and 950 babies annually. Services will include neonatal resuscitation, non-invasive respiratory support, infection treatment, jaundice management, care for premature infants requiring prolonged feeding and weight optimization, nutritional support, and minor surgical procedures.

Chief Executive Officer of the Bustamante Hospital for Children, Mr. Anthony Wood, expressed his appreciation for the timely support: “These upgrades will make a lasting difference in how we deliver care, ensuring our young patients receive treatment in a more comfortable, child-friendly, family-centred, and healing environment.”

For Executive Director at the Sandals Foundation, Heidi Clarke, the investment reflects the philanthropic organisation’s commitment to improving pediatric healthcare services across the region.

“We are honored to be able to facilitate the reopening of the Nursery Department and hope that the families served here will feel a sense of relief as the renovations were aimed at meeting the evolving needs of families in privacy and comfort.”

Describing how the space will support families, Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), Dr. Carmen ‘Cindy’ Rhoden said,“ Parents will now be able to participate in their baby’s care, access counselling in private, and receive emotional support during what can often be an incredibly stressful time."

The development forms part of continued support provided by the Sandals Foundation, who is in 2024, also supported the renovation of the hospital’s chapel at a cost of $1.5 million. The space is a multipurpose area that facilitates the function of social work, including counselling and private meetings with parents, as well as a prayer/meditation facility for staff members and patients alike.

The Bustamante Hospital for Children remains the only specialist pediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean and continues to rely on corporate partnerships to deliver high-quality medical care to children in need.