Gold Family Foundation
gives $48,000 to hospital
OYSTER BAY--Cataract patients in St. Maarten will no longer have to travel to Curaçao to treat their ailment thanks to a donation of US $48,000 from the Gold Family Foundation to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) on Wednesday. The funds will be used to purchase a cataract machine for use at the hospital.
“There are many people on the island who have cataracts. With the machine it means that they don’t have to go to Curaçao anymore. They can stay here,” Foundation member Joshua Gold told The Daily Herald shortly after making the donation yesterday.
He said his satisfaction with the services offered by the hospital coupled with the good job being done by the workers at Oyster Bay Beach Resort, a hotel he co-owns, had been instrumental in motivating him to make the donation.
“I love this island and the staff at Oyster Bay are wonderful. The resort is doing well and I feel that we owe something to the island,” Gold said. “Because we are prospering from the island and its people, we would like to give back to them so they can continue doing what they’re doing.”
Commissioner Roy Marlin, who was present at the ceremony at Oyster Bay Beach Resort to witness the donation, was also instrumental in soliciting the funds for the institution.
The cheque was handed over to Bobby Velasquez who turned it over to Head of the Outpatient Department at SMMC Rob Heil. The hospital plans to purchase and put the cataract machine into operation as soon as possible.
This is not the first time the hospital has received a donation from the Foundation. Last year US $45,000 was donated to the institution to assist with the renovation of the Renal Dialysis Unit.
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