The act of one will save the many

The act of one will save the many

BY NADINE WILSON Observer staff reporter

Monday, July 12, 2010

PATIENTS who received dialysis treatment at the Spanish Town Hospital in St Catherine, could scarcely contain themselves last week Thursday.

Their joy poured out as they waited at the hospital's recently constructed Haemodialysis Centre to greet the man who had made their treatment possible by donating over $22 million to build the centre.

For many of them, 79-year-old Ernest Hoo was one of the most generous persons alive who, by virtue of his generosity, had helped to save their lives.

But instead of accepting the praises heaped on him by the patients and the hospital staff on what was his first visit since the centre was constructed, the businessman simply asked them to thank God for using and directing him.

Hoo said he was moved to assist the Spanish Town Hospital after his mother died, when they were unable to provide a pint of oxygen to save her life. The elderly businessman still harbours some amount of regret for not taking her to another hospital as she had suggested, before she fell into a diabetic coma.

The centre, which started operating over six months ago, was named the Katie Hoo Haemodialysis Centre in honour of his mother.

Instead of being bitter over his mother's passing, Hoo said her death opened up his eyes to the fact that the hospital needed serious financial assistance.

"I said bwoy, this place need a lot of help badly and from that time I have started. So I have done a lot, from lighting, plant, ambulance and I used to repair the thing they put up like walls," said the soft-spoken businessman who remained in the background as many of the patients at the centre urged him to come forward so they could shake his hand.

Although he did not have any relative who was suffering from a kidney problem, he said he was moved to contribute towards the dialysis centre after the hospital's management expressed an urgent need for one.

"I understood that they wanted this type of service. At first, I was told that the hospital was putting up a building for it, but they didn't have the equipment, so I donated the equipment first. Then when the equipment came, they said the building wasn't available, so rather than having it sit there, I decided to put up the building as well," he said

Hoo who owns a firearm dealership and a spice company, said he had turned down the opportunity to live in the United States with his four children, so he could help to develop his own country.

He also at one point managed the Specialist Manufacturing Company Limited and Twickenham Distributors Limited which he eventually sold.

"I am really touched and I am really thankful, and I really thank God that he has directed and encouraged me to really do it," he said when asked how he felt about the patients' response to his generosity.

"I have been through a rough life myself. I came from a family that had 17 children, and I had to leave high school where I won a scholarship when I was 15, because my father couldn't pay two pounds a month for my boarding. So I have come up the hard way and as a result of that, this is my way of saying 'thank you God'," he added.

But even as the elderly philanthropist thanked God, some of the patients heartily sang his praises.

"You are a great man," exclaimed Augustas O'Sullivan, who said that he would have spent in excess of $6 million for dialysis treatment, had it not been for Hoo, who by virtue of building the centre, has ensured that the patients would not have to pay at the government-run hospital.

"If it was not for your initiative, I would have been long dead," continued O'Sullivan as some of the other patients clamoured to greet him.

The administrators of the hospital were equally happy for his contribution.

"We usually get this kind of donation normally from a group of persons, but this is the initiative of one single person," said David Dobson, the parish manager.

And the donation could not have come at a more opportune time as the country is currently experiencing an increase in the number of persons suffering from kidney related problems.

"It is one of the most critical and demanding areas of health care we are experiencing in terms of financial support and in terms of critical care right now. Because you are talking about the fact that a patient who is not dialysed, is on a thin line between living and dying, because the next thing is that all of your organs are going to give in," said chairman of the South East Regional Health Authority, Tanny Shirley.

"The government has it on their priority listing," he further added.

Shirley explained that even with the necessary equipment in place, it cost the government in excess of $1.3 million annually to dialyse each person affected with kidney related problems. Persons who seek treatment privately, he said, could be asked to pay up to $35,000 for each visit.

"We have seen many, many families financially ruined, because of some relatives that have experienced renal failure and have sold their house and whatever possessions just to keep that family member to be on a programme privately," the chairman said.

Consultant nephralogist for the Katie Hoo Haemodialysis Centre, Roger Smith, said although they could only treat up to 28 persons per week, the overwhelming demand for dialysis treatment in Jamaica means that some of persons who turned up were not able to receive treatment immediately.

"When they arrive here at the unit, they are then put on a list of patients which is maintained. That waiting list has currently grown to around 60 patients and it increases every week," said the doctor who noted that referrals came from as far as the Cornwall Regional Hospital near Montego Bay, St James.

"The list is strictly maintained and it is a first-come, first-serve basis as we move forward. However, from time-to-time we get some really heartbreaking stories about patients who honestly cannot survive another day or so without dialysis, and frequently they would be admitted to the hospital in emergency circumstances, and we would make every attempt to dialyse those patients on emergency duty when they are admitted, but we have no way of keeping them," Smith said.

Shirley added that more nurses were currently in training to work in the centre, so that a shift system could be implemented soon to accommodate more patients. He also pointed to other changes that were currently taking place at the Kingston Public Hospital, including the recent addition of 17 brand new dialysis machines to treat patients. He said the hospital currently had in excess of 300 patients in need of treatment.

Hoo hopes that other business persons will come on board to assist in making dialysis treatment more accessible for those in need.

"It is something that I think we need to do because it is in the public's interest, and so many people, especially those who really can't afford it depend on this sort of thing," said the philanthropist.

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