By Melissa JohnsonMinister Ramsammy hands over the motorcycle to Medex Corlette of the New Amsterdam Family Life Health Centre. NEW AMSTERDAM,Cheap Atlanta Falcons Jerseys, BERBICE – Reducing the level of qualification for acceptance to the nursing programme in Guyana does not signal a lower standard for the profession.This statement was made by Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy when the New Amsterdam Family Life Health Centre hosted their Open Day on Friday last.He explained there are instances where persons pulled political connections or used a friendship to gain entry despite the fact they were not eligible for the job. Some of those very persons reaped a success story and are even serving overseas.“If you do not have English or Math you can still be taken into the nursing school. If they didn’t learn it in school, let them learn it in the nursing school,” the Health Minister declared.This means persons without those subjects would have to go the extra mile by taking on the original nursing programme in addition to those subjects they lack.The Minister noted that training for health professionals must be constantly upgraded to suit the ever rapid changes in the areas of medicine and science.The objective of the New Amsterdam Family Life Health Centre Day was not only to showcase the strides made at that facility but to endorse accountability.Over the years, Minister Ramsammy and Chief Executive Officer of the Berbice Regional Health Authority, Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo have emphasized the need for public servants to be more accountable to the people their serve.According to Dr. Mahadeo,Cheap NFL Jerseys, members of the public rightfully deserve a chance to have a say in the day to day management of the facilities and what they think is needed in his sector.He explained that with this system in place, the people would be empowered and be in a better position to demand only the best.Every fortnight, a Health Centre in Region Six-East Berbice/Corentyne would have a week to call their own until all 26 Health Centers are completed.Already the Williamsburg, Bush Lot, Number Forty-seven, Orealla, and Siparuta Health Centres on the Corentyne held similar activities.When the floor was opened for questions and suggestions, Pastor Wilbert Daniels, a former nurse, enquired of fate of the 115-year-old structure that once housed the New Amsterdam Hospital.In 2005 the operation shifted from the Main Street and Charles Place location to Garrison Road. Since then the old building is falling apart and has been the target of vandals as well as a shelter for vagrants.Minister Ramsammy said the site must be preserved but, “It doesn’t mean you have to preserve the building.”According to him, his Ministry had intended to use the building for a substance abuse centre,Off White Air Max 97 For Sale, a Daycare facility for the young and old, with a transportation system attached to it.A decision is yet to be made on whether to rehabilitate the old structure or have a new investment on the site.The New Amsterdam Family Life Health Centre is situated in the very compound as the old hospital and occupies the building that was once the Accident and Emergency Unit.The Centre has two components–the Child Health and Ante-Natal Care and the Communicable Disease sections.According to staff member, Melina Lewis,Cheap Atlanta Braves Hoodies, when the building that housed the Family Health Centre was renovated in August 2005, the Communicable Disease Clinic was eventually shifted to that structure.Among the services offered in this section are the Voluntary Counseling and Testing, Dermatological, Chest and Sexually Transmitted Disease Clinics.With the help of the NAPS, the unit received a social worker, home-based care nurse supervisor and a data entry clerk. There are still some areas of need, including a permanent doctor, phlebotomist/multi-purpose technician, and a standby generator.Nurse Burgeat Clarke spoke of the Health and Ante-Natal Care section. One of their projections is to establish a child-friendly space at this facilityThe New Amsterdam Family Life Health Centre,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, as was explained by Senior Health Visitor Terry Davis, in years gone by, was known as a league but evolved, and now provides a comprehensive range of services. Some 60,000 persons within the catchment area benefit from the services.According to Dr. Vishwa Mahadeo, though there is no cost attached to any service given at health facilities in Guyana,Wholesale Jerseys, there are several children who have not been immunized. There are times when health workers are actuall