- The last session of the clinic, organized in March 2022, treated 53 Jamaican children, providing them with 116 prostheses.
- Orthopedists Gabriel Beversluis and David Burns and nurse Jodi Beversluis donated three boxes of orthopaedic material, socks, and shoes for patients.
Negril, March 2022.- 53 patients with severe mobility impairments were treated in the last session of the Negril Paediatric Orthotic Clinic, founded by RIU Hotels & Resorts in 2009. The 116 prostheses used were donated by orthopedists Gabriel Beversluis and David Burns and by Gabriel’s wife, nurse Jodi Beversluis. The specialists traveled to Jamaica from Lexington, Kentucky, bringing orthotics, socks and shoes donated by their Michigan and Kentucky patients. In addition, Lori Watson and Barry Crume, the owner of Bluegrass Bracing, provided more than 50 pairs of AFO socks.
Its March session was organized by Elaine Allen-Bradley, a retired nurse and director of the Negril Pediatric Orthopedic Clinic, and volunteers Bridgett Wuschik, Jim Wallace, and Lilley Barrows. Nicola Smith, a regular local technician who adjusts prostheses for later use, was also present during this session. In addition to orthopaedic material, the volunteers were also in charge of providing instructions and advice to the patients’ families. This way, they could facilitate their adaptation to the new living conditions of the children.
Trey Tomlinson, a patient whose specific case was broadcast on Jamaican television in November 2021, returned to the clinic to find a special donation covered by the Jamaican online newspaper, Jamaica Observer. After learning of Trey’s story, Volunteer Bridgett Wuschik was able to provide a wheelchair from Ottobock, Germany, for him to attend school regularly and have a little more independence.
All patients attended at the Negril Paediatric Orthotic Clinic are referred by physicians and physical therapists throughout Jamaica. RIU Hotels, responsible for renting and maintaining the clinic space and providing accommodation to its volunteers, carries out these tasks as part of its social commitment to the community. With this service, the chain contributes to improving the Jamaican health system. Most of the patients come from families that would not be able to afford this orthopaedic material. The 53 Jamaican children treated at the March session join the more than 400 patients who have been able to continue with their life plans thanks to the prostheses provided by the clinic.