When the Hospital Ran Out of Room, a Mandeville Church Hall Became the Outpatient Department

• Mandeville Regional Hospital moved its outpatient clinics to a Seventh-day Adventist church hall
• The move took effect on September 8, 2021, during the pandemic
• All clinics except orthopaedics were relocated to 3A Caledonia Road
• Patients could park on the church’s lot

As COVID-19 put pressure on hospital space in 2021, Mandeville Regional Hospital turned to a church. The Southern Regional Health Authority announced that from September 8, 2021, the hospital’s outpatient department would operate from the Mandeville Seventh-day Adventist Church Hall at 3A Caledonia Road, the Jamaica Observer reported.

The health authority said “all outpatient clinics with the exception of the Orthopaedic Clinic will be relocated.” The clinics were to run from Monday to Friday, 8:00 am to 3:00 pm, at the church hall.

Patients were able to park on the church’s lot, and arrangements were made with local pharmacies so prescriptions could still be filled through health programmes. Hospital management thanked the church “for its partnership and support as the hospital manages the impact of the novel coronavirus pandemic.”

The move freed space at the hospital while keeping routine care going for patients in Manchester and surrounding parishes. It also showed how church halls, often used only for a few hours a week, can take on public functions in an emergency.

Church halls are some of the most useful buildings in Jamaican communities: large, central and often empty on weekdays. The Mandeville arrangement shows the value of keeping them in good repair, with working bathrooms, parking and safe wiring, so they can serve when needed. For diaspora congregations and returnees thinking about what to fund at home, upgrading a church hall is an investment that can pay off for a whole town, as it did here. Clear written agreements on use, cleaning, insurance and utilities also protect the congregation when a public agency moves in, even for a short time.

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