Jamaican Minister of Health Visits Hartford Healthcare

In an effort to further foster collaboration and training opportunities, a delegation from Jamaica, including the minister of health and wellness, visited Hartford Hospital Monday.

Hon. Dr. Christopher Tufton, Minister of Health and Wellness, Alsion Wilson, Consul General and the delegation toured CESI, the Bone & Joint Institute and the Cancer Center at Hartford Hospital, to see the technology and innovation and to discuss potential partnership pathways.

They met with Hartford HealthCare leadership to discuss opportunities to train Jamaican nurses or to offer trips for nurses to assist in Jamaican hospitals for one or two weeks, similar to mission trips but organized through the Jamaican hospitals.

Dr. Tufton said prior to COVID they had done a similar pilot program in England, where 25 nurses had a clinical rotation in British hospitals. He explained that while they do have nursing schools in Jamaica, there are limited opportunities for clinical rotations, so having different options in the United States could be mutually beneficial.

Jamaica is a primary supplier of healthcare workers, said Dr. Tufton, who would like to see health systems collaborate to solve the challenge of staffing and training rather than compete for limited resources.

“The Jamaican community is such a vibrant part of the Hartford community, and this is an opportunity to explore different ways to collaborate,” said Jeff Flaks, Hartford HealthCare president and CEO. “We appreciate the ingenuity of these proposals. Hartford HealthCare has high-level training opportunities with our technology and infrastructure.”

Read more about the visit and potential partnership opportunities on Hartford HealthCare's NewsHub.