BROOKLYN, NY—April 12, 2004 -- The Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center (BMS), Brooklyn’s only free-standing health center to be accredited by the Joint Commission on the Accreditation of Health Organizations, has announced that it will donate an x-ray unit to the Caribbean country of Grenada. The donation will enable hundreds of Grenadians to receive high quality diagnostic services to accurately detect diseases of pulmonary circulation and other forms of heart diseases, cerebrovascular diseases, and malignant neoplasms, which represent the top three causes of death in Grenada. According to Dr. Katherine A. Golar, the Medical Director and Chief Medical Officer of BMS, the donation was made because “in the past, x-rays represented the state of the art in diagnostic radiology, and their availability on-site at BMS was not only a convenience to our patients, but part of the delivery of high-quality patient care. However, with the development of MRI (magnet resonance imaging) and CT (computed tomography) scanning, coupled with other changes in the medical field, the need for x-rays is not as great for our patients as it was in the past. In order to ensure that the diagnostic unit received maximum use, the decision was made to find it a new home.” In response to the donation, which was officially made on Monday, April 12, 2004 at the Health Center’s main facility at 592 Rockaway Avenue in Brooklyn, the Grenadian Minister for Health, Environment and Social Security, Ann David Antoine, said, “The x-ray unit is greatly needed by our people and I am happy to report that the unit will be placed in a health center in the Parish of Carriacou and Petit Martinique.” Carriacou and Petit Martinique are two of the three small islands (along with the island of Grenada) that comprise the nation, home to approximately 93,000 people. Dr. Lamuel S. Stanilaus said, “It is a beautiful example of friends helping friends in the pursuit of better health. As the Ambassador Permanent Representative of Grenada to the United Nations, I want to greet, salute and thank Leo Joseph, Dr. Carol McIntosh and the Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center for making this donation of the x-ray unit possible.” Maurice A. Reid, President and Chief Executive Officer of BMS, summed up the importance of the donation by stating, “The Brownsville Multi-Service Family Health Center is a community-based health center that has been serving the residents of Brownsville and neighboring communities for almost 22 years. We are well aware that the communities we serve are largely comprised of first and second generation immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America.” Harvey Lawrence, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of BMS who helped to arrange the donation added, “The donation is also made in recognition of the fact that the wider community BMS serves extends to include these homelands.” Paul Chandler, Chairperson of BMS, stated that, “It is our hope that the donation of the x-ray unit will help Grenada to administer effective preventive and diagnostic care to its citizens.” CONTACT: Marcia Lawrence (718) 345-5000, ext. 2257