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UWI medical students revive ‘Smoker’, donate $2.5m in equipment to Linstead Hospital

Published:Wednesday | April 9, 2025 | 12:09 AMRuddy Mathison/Gleaner Writer
Toni-Anne Green hands over a paediatric infusion pump to Camile Wallen-Panton as members of the ‘Smoker 2024’ team and the Linstead Public Hospital staff pose in front of some of the equipment donated to the hospital for their paediatric ward during th
Matthew McKoy/Photographer
Toni-Anne Green hands over a paediatric infusion pump to Camile Wallen-Panton as members of the ‘Smoker 2024’ team and the Linstead Public Hospital staff pose in front of some of the equipment donated to the hospital for their paediatric ward during the ‘Smoker 2024’ handover ceremony at the Linstead Public Hospital in St Catherine yesterday.

After a multi-year hiatus because of the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students from The University of the West Indies (UWI) Class of 2027 have revived their annual charity production, ‘Smoker 2024’, raising $2.5 million to purchase vital equipment for the paediatric ward at Linstead Hospital in St Catherine.

The theatrical event, a long-standing tradition, returned with great enthusiasm, and the proceeds were used to buy medical equipment, including patient monitors, an ECG machine, infusion pumps, and related accessories. The donation was officially handed over to the hospital on Tuesday.

“Oh, it’s a tradition that happens every year where medical students put on a theatrical production to raise money for noble causes, specifically making donations to a Type C hospital in Jamaica,” said Toni-Anne Green, chairperson for ‘Smoker 2024’.

Green explained that Linstead Hospital’s needs struck a chord with the students.

“The Linstead Hospital caters to a large population of people from St Catherine, St Andrew, St Ann, and St Mary. A lot of persons go there for treatment and they indicated specifically that they would like to open a paediatric unit,” she disclosed.

According to Green, this resonated with the group so they used the money raised to purchase the equipment, in furtherance of the cause.

“You know, taking on this project, we’re all proud of the fact that we were able to put this on after so many years of a hiatus,” Green noted. “We’re grateful to friends, family, alumni and our sponsors for the supports in bringing this back. We feel that helping children at a young age, especially those with diseases that might follow them through their lives, is really important to us,” she admitted.

Hospital CEO Camille Wallen-Panton expressed gratitude, noting the donation significantly reduces the hospital’s capital burden.

“We are expecting to open our paediatric ward in a couple of months. We are presently acquiring the medical equipment for this cause, so the medical students coming on board is a huge help to us,” she told The Gleaner.

“This means that we will be concentrating on buying less patient monitors, less infusion pumps, and they have also given a ECG machine,” she added.

Though the ward building is in place, Wallen-Panton said it requires renovations. Currently, more than 110 paediatric patients are seen monthly and are referred to the Spanish Town and Bustamante hospitals for admission.

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