August 14, 2008 – Mandeville, Jamaica – [Elliot Blake/NCU/IAD]
Northern Caribbean University (NCU), an Adventist institution in Mandeville, Jamaica, inaugurated its newest nursing school facility on its east campus on Aug. 10, 2008.
“Here we are today writing another page in the country's educational history and our contribution to this building is really an investment in fine young Jamaicans who ask only that we provide opportunities for their advancement,” said Dr. Michael Lee-Chin, main benefactor and chairman of the National Commercial Bank, and Jamaica's leading business tycoon, as he addressed church leaders, faculty and students gathered for the ceremony.
“We recognize that there is a desperate shortage of nurses in Jamaica and data from the Ministry of Health indicates that the healthcare system is operating with less than half of the required number of nurses. If we fail to address this imbalance it will have grave implications for all of us,” he explained further.
The representative of the Ministry of Health Dr. Michael Coombs, who currently serves as Technical director for the Southern Regional Health Authority, echoed Lee-Chin's sentiments, highlighting the need to address the shortage of these professionals in Jamaica.
“Jamaica has a chronic shortage of nurses especially at the senior and management levels and in specialist areas such as critical care and accident and emergency,” Coombs said. Dr. Coombs stated that the new nursing school would help in easing this plight.
“The Ministry of Health and Environment welcomes this facility as it has the potential to positively impact nursing education in Jamaica and the general delivery of health services,” he said.
Mrs. Hyancinth Chen, mother of Michael Lee-Chin, cut the ribbon to officially signal the opening of the new nursing school named in her honor. A portrait painting by Jamaican artist Viv Logan of Mrs. Chin was unveiled during the ceremony.
Lee-Chin donated more than $3 million dollars to build, furnish and equip the new state-of-the-art nursing school. Each lecture room is equipped with a built-in multi-media center which includes a flat screen LCD television, surround sound and DVD player. In addition, several classrooms in the facility have electronic whiteboards which allow the lecturer to display educational software and scientific illustrations.
Currently, NCU has 400 nursing students enrolled in the nursing school and the Hyacinth Chen School of Nursing facility will be able to accommodate 800, doubling the department’s current student population.
For more information on Northern Caribbean University and its programs, visit www.ncu.edu.jm
