Thu | Sep 18, 2025

Petrojam donates $1.1m steriliser to MoBay clinic

Published:Friday | April 25, 2025 | 7:26 PM
From left: Lennox Wallace, manager of the St James Health Services, Telroy Morgan, general manager at the Petrojam Limited, Dr Francine Philips-Kelly, medical officer for St James, Richard Vernon, mayor of Montego Bay, Jalene Peart-Cooper, nurse manager at
-Albert Ferguson photo
From left: Lennox Wallace, manager of the St James Health Services, Telroy Morgan, general manager at the Petrojam Limited, Dr Francine Philips-Kelly, medical officer for St James, Richard Vernon, mayor of Montego Bay, Jalene Peart-Cooper, nurse manager at the Montego Bay Type 5 Health Centre and Courtney Cephas, executive director National Healthcare Enhancement Foundation, examine the six-gallon Tuttnauer autoclave machine donated by Petrojam on April 25, 2025.

State-owned oil refinery Petrojam has donated a six-gallon Tuttnauer autoclave steriliser valued at $1.1 million to the Montego Bay Type 5 Health Clinic under the Ministry of Health and Wellness’ Adopt-a-Clinic programme.

Speaking at Friday’s handover ceremony at the facility, Petrojam’s general manager, Telroy Morgan, underscored the company’s continued commitment to improving healthcare infrastructure and service delivery.

“We have committed, then, and we commit to do on a sustained basis, to support not just the welfare of the community, but to ensure that the infrastructure and technological advancement required to bring the type of A-class service to our citizens is maintained,” he said.

Since adopting the clinic in 2023, Petrojam has already provided an echocardiogram machine and continues to invest in its development.

Morgan highlighted the autoclave’s importance in maintaining hygiene and safety standards, ensuring reliable sterilization for medical, dental, and laboratory environments.

The Adopt-a-Clinic programme supports 100 facilities, 55 of which have been adopted by local and international companies, including Petrojam. Among 22 local businesses involved, the company says it remains dedicated to strengthening healthcare services.

St James Health Services Manager Lennox Wallace expressed gratitude, stressing the life-saving impact of the equipment and the value of Petrojam’s partnership.

“The service that it will offer values much more than the dollar value of the equipment that you see there. So, it’s not about the money, it’s the lives that you are saving here today, and it’s the partnership that we have forged over the years,” he explained.

Wallace said the health centre serves all of western Jamaica, catering to patients from St. Elizabeth to St. Ann.

“As much as we are in St. James, Type 5 is really the ‘melting pot’ of western Jamaica… so if somebody comes to Montego Bay to shop, they are coming here [Type 5] for medical care,” he said.

The clinic serves 320 patients daily.

“With the equipment that we have and a facility that operates seven days per week and goes up to 10 p.m. each day, things will break down and need to be replaced to ensure that the patients in this facility [are properly cared for],” Wallace added.

— Albert Ferguson

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