10 January 2019 | The Adventist Church in Jamaica has committed to supporting 100 medical clinics on the island through an adoption program where the denomination provides repairs, renovation and other resources to the facilities as requested by the Jamaican Ministry of Health.

The denomination’s support of the clinics comes as part of its backing of Jamaica Moves, a lifestyle initiative of the government ministry.

The adoption program does not mean that the Adventist Church has taken over ownership of the facilities, merely that it provides necessary support.

“We will encourage churches under the Adopt-a-Clinic program to visit their local health facilities and identify opportunities to provide support to the health professionals,” said Everett Brown, president of the Jamaican Union Conference of the Adventist Church. According to the Jamaica Gleaner, Brown made his remarks on January 8 at a press conference to launch the denomination’s Islandwide Health Initiative for 2019.

“This may be assisting in improving or effecting repairs to the physical environment, such as painting, repairs, supplying equipment needed, as funds are available, to make the working environment more attractive to workers and clients,” said Brown.

He also said that the church would provide the public with education regarding healthy living, stressing that the denomination was very interested in promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Jamaica’s Health Minister, Dr Christopher Tufton, thanked the denomination for its partnership at the January 8 press conference which took place at the Eastern Region headquarters of the Adventist Church in St. Andrew.

According to the Adventist denomination’s Office of Archives Statistics and Research, there were 304,021 members and 683 churches in Jamaica as of June 30, 2017.

To comment, click here