World Family Doctor Day 2021

THE GLEANER, WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2021 | www.jamaica-gleaner.com | E10 WORLD FAMILY DOCTOR DAY FEATURE P ARTNERSINTERVENTIONAL Centre of Jamaica (PICJ), like many other businesses, was faced with the sudden tsunami of COVID-19 in March 2020. No one could have predicted the impact that a microscopic organism would have on the world and, more important, on the health of our nation. Since March 2020, COVID-19 has had a cumulative effect causing serious respiratory illness and death. I don’t think today there is a Jamaican who does not know someone who has died because of COVID. Truthfully though, the scenario could be worse had it not been for the dedication and sacrifice of our fellow physicians on the front line. Not just in the emergency departments and wards, but also in their private offices conducting screenings, and encouraging preventative measures to mitigate the spread and ease some of the load off the hospitals. Despite these overwhelming circumstances, during this time PICJ was able to start our cardiac structural programme with the introduction of percutaneous closure of ASD (hole in the heart) and PFO, especially for young persons with cryptogenic stroke. This has opened a non-surgical treatment for a cause of stroke in the young. Our first cases went well, and to quote one patient reviewed post-procedure, “That was the best night’s sleep I have had in years!” This milestone could not have been achieved without the input and confidence that GPs and family doctors have in the PICJ team. To our general practitioners and family doctors – THANK YOU! Your continued support enables us to manage persons with cardiac needs, making us one of the premier cardiac centres in Jamaica today. Through these continued collaborations, PICJ fulfils our ethos of being your ‘PARTNERS FOR LIFE’. – Contributed by Partners Interventional Centre of Jamaica Partners Interventional Centre of Jamaica World Family Doctor Day 2019 Walkathon: Dr Donald Gordon leads the walk at Emancipation Park. Doctors at World Family Doctor Day Walkathon: Drs Standard Goldson and Alva Kiddoe.