Smart hospital what about MCMH

I AM EXCITED over our recommissioned Medical Clinics in Shatto and Mespo now proudly elevated to SMART Hospitals.

De Acronym SMART is what excites me.

Ah was telling Lie-Za dat long ago when you told ah parent dat his/ her child was SMART, dey nose uses to swell, because dat was taken as ah compliment. Or when someone said to you: “dat young man yuh daughter dating is ah real SMART-man!”

Ah woman-eyes-orscamp, so you began to worry. She said she remembers de time her dad was questioning her about ah matter dat he was really off target, so she answered him sternly wid one ah dem “get yuh facts right, daddy!” Totally upset wid her rudeness, her dad told her: “When I speaking to you, Doh give me no SMART-Arse answer!” Same time her mother chimed in and said: “Is long time ah telling yuh (daddy), she trying to Out-SMART us!”

Well de SMART Hospital sin-drone sent me to Google and ah think we on to ah next Rev-all-yuh-shun, ah Hell’t Rev-all-yuhshun wid SMART Hospitals. SMART as in: “Self-Monitoring- Analysis-Reporting-Technology!” Doh get carried away, de day de Go-venommint decide to get truly SMART and address de needs at de Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, dah’s when our Hell’t Service in SVG will see ah better day.

However, congrats are in order to de Go-venom- mint foh de SMART Hospitals. Millions ah dollars, both external and local funding, have gone into these facilities that will enhance de Hell’t Services in the communities. Ah overs dat Zonal Hell’t Committees are being formed, sounds good eh, won’t it be SMART if those Committees are comprised of: “Brown and Yellow, Black and White, colours precious in God’s sight?” But Ah bet it would be Red, Red and more Red, to hut we head!

Lie-Za, as yuh know, is ah “know-it-all” SMARTY when she ready. She never heard bout SMART Hospital, and not familiar wid de Acronym SMART, so she started to cuss Ralph and de ULP, calling dem SMART-Alex, which could mean “a wise guy or “an obnoxious person!” She also cussing de “Ole Lady” from Bequia, mother Street-SMART, who did add-vice de PM on ah matter. Dis time Ole Mother Hubbard must have reminded de PM about de transformation in communuication wid de advent of de SMART Phone wid its numerous capabilities and multi-purpose mobile computing devices. She told him dat by calling de Hell’t Clinics SMART-Hospitals, is ah master stroke. Dat anything ah SMARTPhone could do in telecommunications,” she said, “just watch our SMART-Hospital do it in Hell’t Care!”

And den she made a SMART remark “ah ready foh SMART-Justtaste”. Dat girl is trouble eh! FITTING TRIBUTE TO PAPA LATEY When ah listened to de opening of de SMART Hospital in Mespo, ah thought of Levi “Papa Latey” Latham.

He was ah SMART politician, he uses to boast he had no Eddy-Care-shun. Papa Latey was de God-father of Self Help in SVG. Ah remember when de Levi Latham Health Centre was originally ah Community Centre used mainly foh Dances and weddings. At one time it was used as ah School (EHS), ah Church and den when it was about to become ah derelict, Latham, who was minister

connected with Community Development, decided to transform de building into ah Hell’t Centre. Of Course dey were others, de name Chippy Browne comes to mind. Chippy was also ah community builder, he was Rejected, Pelted and finally Ejected! Good to see dey were able to find him, to dust him off to come cut de ribbon at de grand opening on Tuesday. But I just happen to know dat Pappy Latey, in addition to begging de Business houses foh donations, he spent ah lot of his personal funds making sure de Clinic was finished before he died. He insisted dat every worker on de project worked an extra day of de week Free. De Sat-dey Worshippers wuked on Sun-dey and de Sunday Worshippers Wuked on Sat-dey.

Latham provided food and drinks in addition to materials. So is no coincidence dat de Levi Latham Hell’t Centre is called ah SMART Hospital. De name Levi Latham is synonymous with SMART. And wid dat is gone ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.

● Bassy Alexander is a land surveyor, folklorist and social commentator.