EMTs ready to roll
Christian aid group deployed to field hospital, other international organisations to provide medical support in hurricane-ravaged areas
Published:Wednesday | November 5, 2025 | 12:22 AMSashana Small/Staff Reporter
Twenty-one emergency medical teams (EMT) from 14 international organisations have expressed their readiness to support Jamaica’s recovery efforts following the devastation caused by Hurricane Melissa.
Luis De La Fuente, regional EMT adviser for the Pan American Health Organisation (PAHO), World Health Organisation (WHO), made the announcement yesterday during a health cluster meeting with donor agencies and non-government organisations.
“This is a huge number. We really appreciate all the commitment and readiness and offering the support to the Ministry of Health,” he said.
Already, he indicated that Samaritan’s Purse, an evangelical Christian humanitarian aid organisation, is deployed to the field hospital in Black River, St Elizabeth, which was gravely impacted by the Category 5 storm.
While PAHO provides technical support for healthcare delivery in the hurricane’s aftermath, Ian Stein, PAHO/WHO representative for Jamaica, emphasised that thorough assessment and strategic deployment of teams are essential to maximising its impact.
“The needs are tremendous, but this calibration of understanding what the offers are is what’s critical for the Ministry of Health and Wellness to make the decision about what goes where. We do need tents in some situations. In other situations, we do need a primary healthcare centre to support the Ministry of Health and Wellness staff that is one the scene. In other cases, we do need a field hospital,” he said.
Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, in the meantime, expressed gratitude for the support, indicating his anticipation that it would be provided through an orderly and coordinated approach and translate to added value on the ground by “giving those who are most affected a helping hand”.
Dr Jacquiline Bisasor-McKenzie, the country’s chief medical officer, stressed that there are structures in place that require medical professionals coming into the island to be registered.
“Many persons are used to, especially if you have experience in disaster relief, in going into situations where all governance is lost. I just wanna make it clear here that governance is not lost,” she said.
TEMPORARY REGISTRATION
She said the requisite councils have been activated to provide temporary registration in a timely manner. Medical professionals need to present their current licence certification and credentials in order to be considered.
Meanwhile, Dr Nicole Dawkins-Wright, director of emergency, disaster management, and special services, noted that assessment of the damage caused by Hurricane Melissa was ongoing and about 60 per cent complete.
Highlighting the Southern Regional Health Authority as ground zero, she noted, however, that facilities, including primary healthcare centres across the island, had suffered significant destruction from the hurricane, which made landfall on the island last Tuesday.
The Black River Hospital in St Elizabeth suffered extensive damage, with its in-patient wards and laboratory destroyed. It is currently limited to providing accident and emergency services, and more than 70 patients have been transferred to the Mandeville Regional Hospital. The Cornwall Regional Hospital is operating at reduced capacity, facing severe overcrowding in its accident and emergency department, and diverting surgeries to other facilities. At the Falmouth Hospital in Trelawny, 60 per cent to 70 per cent of the roof was lost, the operating theatre area was damaged, the accident and emergency roof was destroyed, and the laboratory was severely flooded. The Noel Holmes Hospital in Hanover also sustained significant roof damage.
She noted that Jamaica’s health sector recovery would face significant challenges and would require support across several areas, including infrastructure, workforce capacity, health-service delivery, care for displaced persons, as well as coordination and communication systems.
Dawkins-Wright stated that the sector’s waste-management system had been “challenged”, and areas were seeing increases in vectors.
Bisasor-McKenzie, in the meantime, said a robust surveillance system was in place to collect information from shelters, hospitals, and primary healthcare centres on any outbreaks that may occur so that the ministry is able to respond quickly.
She noted, too, that psychosocial issues are an impact of the hurricane and that the ministry intends to establish more access points and outreach to provide support.
“I don’t think we can get enough help in terms of psychologists and social workers and these types of paramedical personnel because we are going to need to staff centres right across the country with these persons who are able just to listen, to link persons to solutions where there are solutions, and just to provide help,” she said.