Many Jamaican families look forward each year to free health fairs often hosted at churches and community centres ahead of the start of school, when students are required to present proof of a full medical.
For the health professionals who have to conduct these medicals, the hours can be long as parents seek to capitalise on this crucial offering. But family nurse practitioner Marcia Bryan-Thompson doesn’t mind. It provides a great opportunity for her to help Jamaicans to “know their numbers”.
“We see persons with high blood pressure, we do medicals, and we see persons with diabetes because some persons didn’t know they were diabetic, and some people didn’t know they have high sugar and cholesterol as well. Sometimes we have all of those programmes, including dental and HIV. The doctor is here to review all of those persons who are tested, whether blood pressure, sugar, or dental-wise, or otherwise, or medical-wise, and sometimes we make referrals as well,” she told Freedom Come Rain as she took a break from tending to children and parents at a back-school and health fair held by the Free Town Foundation at the Miracle Tabernacle Freetown Church of God of Prophecy in Clarendon on Friday, August 21.
Bryan-Thompson, who works with the Clarendon Health Department, looks forward to attending the health fair at the Freetown Church in particular, because she gets to interact with persons from several communities in the parish at one venue. As a Christian, she loves what the church is doing for the community and was taking part in her fourth health fair on Friday, at that particular church.
Churches across the island have been volunteering their spaces to host health fairs annually. Hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and cancer are the leading cause of death and a major public health crisis in Jamaica, accounting for roughly 70% to 75% of all deaths on the island. The country’s health centres are struggling to meet the demand for treatment.
“Some persons are going to university, some persons are early childhood teachers, and they do medicals here as well. And also [there are] those persons who come and want to get tested, like they want to just know their numbers, they just want to know if they’re hypertensive, and they just want to test their numbers. Sometimes it’s alarming to know that we get a few diagnoses. We have to diagnose a few persons based on just checking up. We refer them either to the nearest health center or, well, we give them options. If they want to go back to their private doctor, no problem, or we give them options. But we normally refer them to the nearest health centre, which is a curative centre,” Brayn-Thomas explained.
There was also a dental team providing oral health care, as well as persons from the Jamaica Cancer Society conducting free pap smears at the church.
“You’ll find that some people come to the doctor, they have a headache, they have something going on for a long time, and then they get help right away without paying one red cent,” the family health practitioner noted. There were at least six health practitioners at the church on Friday to meet the demand.
While residents do not pay, the Free Town Foundation generally solicits help from donors and sponsors to make the back to school and health fair possible each year. Volunteers also commit time to give back to the scores of families who attend annually.
The Free Town Foundation was registered as a charitable organisation in 2016 and provides an avenue to extend the work of the church into the wider community.
“Through our back-to-school initiatives, we help children obtain the school materials they need to begin the academic year with greater confidence. Through our health fair, we bring attention to the health and well-being of our community, particularly our children and families. Through our feeding and welfare efforts, we try to meet people where their needs are greatest, and through our partnerships, we seek to connect our community with organisations and individuals who share our belief that when we strengthen families, we strengthen communities,” said Carol Officer, a member of the board of directors.