From February 28th to March 14th, 2025, the Issa Trust Foundation President, Diane
Pollard, was in Jamaica with a team of doctors and nurses from Connecticut Children’s
Hospital.

The mission is called the Neonatal Nurses Essential Training and Skills Program.
The mission was headed by Dr. Naveed Hussain from Connecticut and Neo-Natal Nurse
Practioner Sheron Wagner from Dallas, working alongside Dr. Samantha Walker at the
Victoria Jubilee Hospital.
Jamaica’s South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA) also played a vital role in the
mission. Through the training of the nurses, the mission has helped many sick and
premature newborns in Jamaica. Their lives are at risk because there are not enough
trained nurses. These nurses are needed to give the special care that these babies require.
The mission focused on the Victoria Jubilee Hospital in Kingston which is the largest
maternity hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean. Dr . Naveed Hussain, a professor of
pediatrics at the University of Connecticut and a Neo Natalogist at Connecticut Children’s
Hospital, says “We actually started the training online in November of 2024 via Zoom and
are here for hands-on training with a site visit.” He added, “At the end of the training, the
nurses who have met the requirements of 75% attendance and 90% competence will
awarded a certificate.” He further commented, “We also conducted the Helping Babies
Breathe Program which helps nurses to take care of babies in the first minute of life where
the baby needs vital oxygen.”
When the Most Honorable Mrs. Juliet Holness was informed of the mission, she
commented, “The Issa Trust Foundation has continued to make high-quality health care
available to our most vulnerable and underserved Jamaicans, and for this, they must be
applauded. I have continued to be impressed by their dedication to the cause, from their
annual medical missions on the north coast to leading in creating a state-of-the-art neonatal
facility at the St Anns Bay Hospital, to now facilitating training of neonatal nurses at Victoria
Jubilee Hospital. Organizations like the Issa Trust Foundation continue to inspire hope and
prove to be invaluable partners for investing in our future by securing the health of our
children.”