In the wake of Hurricane Melissa’s devastation across St Elizabeth, the Jamaican Government is swiftly moving to reestablish critical healthcare services, beginning with the deployment of an emergency field hospital in Black River.
Set to arrive within 24 hours, the mobile unit—outfitted with surgical capability, diagnostics, and clinical personnel—will temporarily fill the void left by the heavily damaged Black River Hospital. Installation will be led by Samaritan’s Purse, a humanitarian group with a track record in post-disaster medical infrastructure.
This initiative forms part of a broader recovery effort being executed in tandem with the Jamaica Defence Force and other state actors. The aim: stabilize health access in the parish capital while assessments of the permanent facility continue.
Electricity remains out in parts of the area, and structural damage to the hospital’s main administrative wing has rendered much of it non-functional. The temporary field unit will serve as the primary care hub until further notice.
More mobile hospitals are on the horizon. A second unit is scheduled to arrive from Spain, with Canada and India also in advanced talks to send additional facilities for deployment in Trelawny and Westmoreland.
These hospitals are more than tents—they are self-contained treatment centers, fully kitted with diagnostic systems and inpatient accommodations, and staffed with trauma-ready medical teams. The health ministry emphasized that beyond infrastructure, this move also acknowledges the emotional and physical toll on Jamaica’s healthcare workers, many of whom are themselves recovering from the storm’s impact.
In parallel, over 200 medical personnel are set to participate in a national cleanup operation to sanitize and stabilize affected health institutions. The ministry aims to restore functionality in primary health clinics island-wide within the next week.
Urgent calls have also been reissued for blood donations, with the post-hurricane spike in trauma cases driving up the national demand for emergency reserves.
As the island begins the long road to recovery, the field hospital strategy represents both a tactical health intervention and a symbol of rapid government mobilization under pressure.
