Adventist Hospital in Jamaica Continues to Expand, Installs New President

Andrews Memorial Hospital (AMH), a healthcare institution operated by the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Jamaica, recently unveiled new plans and strategies to continue providing services in the capital city of Kingston. The 79-year-old institution, which is part of the Adventist Healthcare Services Inter-America network, also installed its new president.

Donmayne Gyles became the new president and chief executive officer of AMH during a special ceremony on May 13. Gyles succeeds Patric Rutherford, who led the institution for more than two decades.

In his handing over of the baton, Rutherford, who has served AMH for a cumulative 22 years, expressed his confidence in Gyles.

“I am a happy man today because God has blessed me with fulfilling the last piece of my assignment to this hospital,” Rutherford said. “It’s a joy to serve, and when you leave, you don’t want to leave and see things crumble behind you, you want to see things build and grow beyond where you have been.”

Rutherford emphasized that no organization rises above its leadership, and so the key to future growth is finding the caliber of leadership that is going to take it the next level.

“We have worked together for two years,” Rutherford said. “I have had the privilege of sharing some things with [Gyles] because, as we grapple with the problems and challenges that we face, I realize that [his] thinking is embedded and engrossed in the process and in the understanding of what it takes to move to the next step.”

About Andrews Memorial Hospital

AMH currently has 60 beds and offers a wide range of healthcare services, including radiology, a medical laboratory, a pharmacy, a vegetarian cafeteria, a dental unit, a corporate health facility, an inpatient facility, an outpatient facility, and four operating theaters.

The hospital is the only one in Jamaica that processes medicals for USA visa immigrants. AMH was contracted to offer COVID-19 vaccines to the public and was able to admit non-COVID-19 medical patients with severe illnesses under a public-private partnership.

Currently, AMH is partnering with the government of Jamaica under its project Code Care initiative to assist with the reduction of its backlog of elective surgical cases.

About the New President

Gyles, whose position as president and CEO was effective April 1, previously served as the institution’s vice president of finance and chief financial officer.

In his response, Gyles, who began denominational work 18 years ago, said that he never envisioned standing in his new capacity. “Every milestone, every appointment, every move was an indication of God’s leading in my life, and so today, I am first giving thanks to God for His leading and direction in my life, and for this opportunity that He has afforded me to lead this noble institution.”

Development Plans

Gyles said that AMH’s strategic future will focus on five issues, namely, service quality, patient experience, employee experience, brand recognition through marketing and public relations, and financial stability.

“We are on track to reopening our High Dependency Unit later this year, with a view of growing this service over the next couple of years into a fully functional Intensive Care Unit,” he explained. “We have already recruited key specialist nurses for this service and are in discussions with other stakeholders to facilitate its successful and sustainable future.”

AMH will soon be able to implement a catheterization lab (cath lab) including nursing care and the engagement of lead cardiologists to utilize the service and help with the rollout of the cardiac program. The hospital is also on target to start offering magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) services by July, Gyles reported.

“Based on our assessment, this is needed to help satisfy the demand for such services and support in reducing the local backlog created, and we thank wholeheartedly our global partner for decades, AdventHealth (formerly Florida Hospital), for their benevolence through which this unit along with the cath lab was donated to us,” Gyles added.

Currently, AMHis in a research partnership with Loma Linda University Health (LLUH), which includes raising funds for the procurement of three major pieces of lab equipment. LLUH recently donated a Micro Scan machine that will make the processing of microbiology samples faster and more efficient.

In addition, LLUH is also providing the hospital with guidance and technical assistance for restructuring the layout and workflow of the medical lab’s physical plant and gaining the expertise needed to move the operation to accreditation.

Plans are underway to have a fifth operating theater, 40 new beds, a dialysis center, and a partnership for kidney transplant surgery.

From Good to Great

In his remarks during the service, Inter-American Division health ministries director Frank Géneus said it was important to be present during the ceremony and reassure leaders of the Inter-American Division’s support for the healthcare institution. “You are not alone with this, because we work with those who … are encouraging Andrews Memorial Hospital in its irresistible ascension from good to great,” he said.

AMH board chairman Everett Brown praised the commitment and dedication of Gyles and his years of experience that have equipped him as an ideal person to serve as AMH CEO. “The board of Governors have every confidence that with a united and committed leadership team and staff beside him, the hospital is poised to move to the next level of delivering Christ-centered service to the citizens of Jamaica and beyond.”

In October 2010, the Gleaner Company (one of two national newspapers in Jamaica) described Andrews Memorial Hospital as a gift to Jamaica from the Church when it presented AMH with the Gleaner Honor Award for its commitment to providing first-class health care.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-American Division news site.