New Portsmouth Hospital Constructed For $2 Million Named After Olivia Douglas
The newly constructed health and wellness centre in Portsmouth has been named after Olivia Douglas, the widow of late Micheal Douglas – former Opposition Leader and parliamentary representative of Portsmouth. A midwife at the Princess Margaret Hospital and trainer at the School of Nursing, Olivia Douglas is also the mother of Ian Douglas, current parliamentary representative for Portsmouth.
Built at the cost of $2 million, the new Olivia Douglas Health and Wellness Centre contains two clinics, a pharmacy, two examination rooms, doctors offices, nurses stations, and a residential quarter for staff. It is a climate resilient health facility with reinforced concrete and impact resistant windows. Project Director with MMCE, Ahmad Alkhatib, said the community health centre is fully equipped with modern equipment and designed for the convenience of the handicapped and the elderly.
PM Roosevelt Skerrit, Honourable Ian Douglas, and Health Minister Irving McIntyre all revealed that the new health facility will improve health conditions and wellness in Portsmouth and beyond. Skerrit said the facility is to express thanks for the 40+ years of nursing service rendered by Olivia Douglas to Dominicans, while Ian Douglas said it underscores the commitment of the government to the wellness of people in Georgetown and throughout Portsmouth.
“You have had a long, genuine and fruitful relationship with this Government from Hon. Michael Douglas through to former Prime Minister Roosie Douglas,” Dr. McIntyre said. “You have been faithful and we show our appreciation by delivering to you the people, your new health and wellness centre.”
A Jamaican native, Olivia became a professional nurse after returning from England with husband Michael Douglas. Apart from her stints at the School of Nursing and the Princess Margaret Hospital, she was also instrumental to the development of primary healthcare in the country in the early 1980s.
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