Much-Needed Medical Equipment Donated To Frederiksted Health Care

Update 12:20 p.m. — David A. Beale clarified on The Consortium’s Facebook page that he and his wife did not personally make the donations. They were made, he said, on the behalf of the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation.

ORIGINAL STORY: ST. CROIX — The Board of Directors of Frederiksted Health Care, Inc., announced on Thursday that the facility received new equipment to improve the delivery of health care to patients from the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation.

The new equipment, an ultrasound machine, 2 unrinalysis machines and an EKG machine, were donated by Attorney David Beale and his wife Tina Beale, who visited FHC on Wednesday for a recognition ceremony.

FHC CEO Masserae Sprauve-Webster thanked Mr. and Mrs. Beale for the gift and made a point of noting that Bennie Benjamin, although from St. Croix, did not make his fame in the Virgin Islands, nor did he found success singing Caribbean music.

“He made his fame and money away; but he remembered his home and made provisions to have a foundation created to support health care delivery in the Virgin Islands,” Mrs. Sprauve-Webster said.

According to the release, Mrs. Sprauve-Webster made a public commitment to utilize the equipment to serve the community and, “if one day we should no longer need the equipment, we will make sure that it is turned over to another organization that can utilize the equipment to provide services to this community, unlike a previous donation from the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation for dental equipment that sits unused for 4 years at DOH while our community needs services,” she said.

Board Chairman John Abramson, Jr. thanked the Beales for their generosity and assured them that “your selection of FHC as a benefactor is a worthwhile investment.”

Nursing Director Judy Ann Ross and Chief Medical Officer Shavell Karel also thanked the Beales and explained the purpose and importance of each item that was donated to the audience.

Mr. Beale shared that the Foundation was happy to make the donation to FHC, as “we view Frederiksted Health Care, Inc. as the epitome of Health Care on St. Croix.”

In other news, FHC announced that it had received official notification from the Commission on Dental Accreditation that FHC’s dental residency program is CODA accredited. This makes FHC’s dental residency program with NYU Lutheran Health Care, the first accredited dental residency program in the Virgin Islands, according to the release.

Feature Image: From left to right: Mr. Stanley Jones Board Member FHC Eustace Brown Vice Chair FHC John Abramson Chair FHC Tina Beale Attorney David Beale Executors Bennie and Martha Foundation.

Image Credit: FHC.