The Seventh-day Adventist Community Service Federation, a community outreach and service organization of the church, gave Gov. Juan F. Luis Memorial Hospital a $3,500 check for its neonatal care unit, Thursday in a short ceremony at the V.I. Cardiac Center.
Gertrude Roberts, president of the St. Croix branch of the Community Services Federation, drove the fundraising effort, said Pastor Henry Peters, president of the Northern Caribbean Region of the Community Services Federation.
"It was in her heart that some contribution should be made to the hospital and its neonatal unit," Peters said. "It’s just a small check. It’s not really so much but we know in the spirit it is given, it will go a long way," she said.
"It means a lot and we definitely will be using it," said Justa "Tita" Encarnacion, head nursing officer at the hospital. "In the nursery, $3,500 can be used for so much," she said.
The unit sees about 500 births a year, and a dozen at any given time, said
Faye John-Baptiste, the nurse manager of the neonatal unit, thanked the group of Adventists too. The unit sees more than 500 births a year and has about a dozen patients at any given moment, she said.
Another benefit for the hospital and community happens this weekend. The hospital is holding a blood drive from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.Saturday at the New Seaside Market in Gallows Bay – formerly known as the Schooner Bay Market. The St. Croix Board of Realtors, in conjunction with the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital’s Patient Family Council, organized the drive.
The event was organized to bring the community together in support of JFL and to benefit its blood bank supply.
