From left: Rotary Sunset President Jaida Nisbett with SMMC Patient Care Manager Antonio Pantophlet, Maternity Ward Supervisor Nurse Sherryl Carty, Rotary Foundation Chair Rotarian Michelette Boasman and SMMC Medical Director Dr. Felix Holiday.
CAY HILL–In recognition of Maternal Child Health Month, Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset donated fifty maternity gift baskets to St. Maarten Medical Center recently for new mothers and babies.
Maternal and Child Health Month is recognised by Rotary Clubs worldwide during April. Rotary makes high-quality health care available to vulnerable mothers and children throughout the world so they can live longer and grow stronger.
Rotary Clubs around the world help to expand access to quality care so mothers and children everywhere can have the same opportunities for a healthy future. An estimated 5.9 million children under age five die each year because of malnutrition, inadequate health care and poor sanitation, all of which can be prevented.
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset contacted SMMC in efforts to provide assistance to its maternity ward when the club was invited to donate maternal gift baskets, a programme that was initiated several years ago but gradually decreased over the past years. Health care professionals at SMMC, open to the partnership with Rotary Sunset, provided a list of recommended items essential for new-born babies.
Rotary Foundation Chair Michelette Boasman contacted Martijn Trading and Penny’s Department Store, which provided the club with generous discounts on the products. The club’s members assembled 50 maternity baskets that contained items such as wet wipes, baby oils, pacifiers, bibs, breast pads, bath liquids, diapers, receiving blankets and formula for the maternity ward patients. The club will also make a donation to the hospital on the French side of the island.
“As a small community, we often overlook the fact that there are many individuals in our community that face different struggles. It is especially heart-breaking to hear of instances where children, new-born babies in particular, have to suffer because of the lack of adequate health care or even malnutrition.
“While these may not be issues alarming enough to raise concerns in our community, they do exist, and I am pleased that our club can provide some assistance to alleviate some of the burden that many new mothers face,” Rotary Sunset President Jaida Nisbett stated.
Rotary Club of St. Martin Sunset extended heartfelt gratitude to the SMMC management and staff for the opportunity to partner on this initiative and for their cooperation and assistance in the execution of the project.
Source: The Daily Herald https://www.thedailyherald.sx/islands/86549-rotary-sunset-donates-gift-baskets-to-smmc
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