|
Jamaican News
Home > News &
Events
Home To Evict Seniors
News Item From The Jamaica Gleaner
THE LOCAL Roman Catholic community is outraged at
a decision recently taken by the management of St. Joseph's Hospital, run by the
Archdiocese of Kingston, to evict residents of its senior citizens' home who are unable to
pay sharply increased fees for their accommodation.
Lloyd Miller, assistant business administrator at the Deanery Road, Kingston-based
institution, confirmed the situation in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday.
"Yes, a lot of Catholics are upset and have called us and vented their feelings that
'we are being uncharitable', but they are not seeing the economic side of the
matter," said Mr. Miller.
He said subsequent to a management change at the hospital more than a year ago, the fees
for accommodation and treatment on the senior citizens' wing were increased by "about
100 per cent or just above that", effective January of this year. He said this was to
bring them "to at least a level where they are paying for their upkeep".
However, of 29 seniors in residence, only about six have had their sponsors pay the higher
fee which, for example, places a $25,000 per month price tag on a private room and the
accompanying services.
So far, nine of the residents have vacated the facility, with the others who have not
complied set "to go because they have been told to do so," said Mr. Miller.
He described the decision as a "traumatic one, which appears to have the institution
retreating from one of the tenets of the (Catholic) Church, which is feeding the poor and
giving in general."
However, he said since the 1970s, a number of circumstances have led to declining economic
circumstances at the institution, which was founded in 1916 under the sponsorship of the
Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic faith. He said not only did the Dominican Order pull
out with its economic support then, but most of the affluence surrounding the institution
subsequently disappeared.
He said some other local Catholic institutions also came in for the same fate.
"In our case, the hospital was handed over to the Archdiocese of Kingston," said
Mr. Miller, indicating that in the two decades since, the institution has been meeting all
its obligations without outside assistance.
He said the golden age wing was established after the Dominican Order pull-out, when a
decision was taken to use a new wing for the hospital's regular operations and to
supplement this with a senior citizens' operation in the old wing.
However, inflation since the 1980s, along with stagnant rates on the senior citizens'
wing, gradually led to it becoming a drain on the hospital's finances. This, Mr. Miller
said, led to the current "breaking point".
While he declined to discuss personalities, The Gleaner learnt that it was the influence
of key Roman Catholic figures like deacon Ronald Thwaites, who chaired the hospital's
board up to the time he ran for political office in 1997, that kept the eviction threat at
bay for a number of years.
The acting business administrator said a cost analysis done after the current management
took office "showed that the residence of 29 persons was being subsidised by the
(general) hospital's resources, which itself was in a distressed state."
He said while the overall occupancy level at the 66-bed institution was down to just over
20 per cent from about 50 per cent three years ago, its operating cost has remained at
between $60 and $70 million annually.
"The dilemma we are now facing is that we can't be earning a dollar and spending
two," said Mr. Miller, indicating that the only alternative to the new fees
"would be to shut down the facility completely". Roman Catholic community is outraged at
a decision recently taken by the management of St. Joseph's Hospital, run by the
Archdiocese of Kingston, to evict residents of its senior citizens' home who are unable to
pay sharply increased fees for their accommodation.
Lloyd Miller, assistant business administrator at the Deanery Road, Kingston-based
institution, confirmed the situation in an interview with The Gleaner yesterday.
"Yes, a lot of Catholics are upset and have called us and vented their feelings that
'we are being uncharitable', but they are not seeing the economic side of the
matter," said Mr. Miller.
He said subsequent to a management change at the hospital more than a year ago, the fees
for accommodation and treatment on the senior citizens' wing were increased by "about
100 per cent or just above that", effective January of this year. He said this was to
bring them "to at least a level where they are paying for their upkeep".
However, of 29 seniors in residence, only about six have had their sponsors pay the higher
fee which, for example, places a $25,000 per month price tag on a private room and the
accompanying services.
So far, nine of the residents have vacated the facility, with the others who have not
complied set "to go because they have been told to do so," said Mr. Miller.
He described the decision as a "traumatic one, which appears to have the institution
retreating from one of the tenets of the (Catholic) Church, which is feeding the poor and
giving in general."
However, he said since the 1970s, a number of circumstances have led to declining economic
circumstances at the institution, which was founded in 1916 under the sponsorship of the
Dominican Order of the Roman Catholic faith. He said not only did the Dominican Order pull
out with its economic support then, but most of the affluence surrounding the institution
subsequently disappeared.
He said some other local Catholic institutions also came in for the same fate.
"In our case, the hospital was handed over to the Archdiocese of Kingston," said
Mr. Miller, indicating that in the two decades since, the institution has been meeting all
its obligations without outside assistance.
He said the golden age wing was established after the Dominican Order pull-out, when a
decision was taken to use a new wing for the hospital's regular operations and to
supplement this with a senior citizens' operation in the old wing.
However, inflation since the 1980s, along with stagnant rates on the senior citizens'
wing, gradually led to it becoming a drain on the hospital's finances. This, Mr. Miller
said, led to the current "breaking point".
While he declined to discuss personalities, The Gleaner learnt that it was the influence
of key Roman Catholic figures like deacon Ronald Thwaites, who chaired the hospital's
board up to the time he ran for political office in 1997, that kept the eviction threat at
bay for a number of years.
The acting business administrator said a cost analysis done after the current management
took office "showed that the residence of 29 persons was being subsidized
by the
(general) hospital's resources, which itself was in a distressed state."
He said while the overall occupancy level at the 66-bed institution was down to just over
20 per cent from about 50 per cent three years ago, its operating cost has remained at
between $60 and $70 million annually.
"The dilemma we are now facing is that we can't be earning a dollar and spending
two," said Mr. Miller, indicating that the only alternative to the new fees
"would be to shut down the facility completely".
- Back -
For more
comprehensive local news coverage, please visit the following Jamaican news & media
websites:
|
