St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, Ocho Rios Police Station Get Facelift

Tourism entities that operate in the Ohio Rios resort area joined with public-sector agencies, local government officials and residents to spruce up the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital and the Ocho Rios Police Station.

The Labour Day exercise included tree planting, in keeping with the theme for the day, ‘Plant a Tree for Life – Promoting Climate Change Mitigation, Food Security and Road Safety’, painting and general repairs.

Councillor for the Ocho Rios Division and Chairman of the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, Michael Belnavis, told JIS News that Labour Day 2023 was “one of the biggest coming together of the public and private sectors that I have seen in a long time on a Labour Day, and St. Ann today is better for it”.

“We had Sandals, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Carnival Corporation, Chukka Caribbean Adventures, the St. Ann Municipal Corporation, HeavenSent Foundation, the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA), Jamaica Vacations (JamVac), the Optimist Club, Bahia Principe all involved one way or another in Labour Day activities,” he noted.

Mr. Belnavis said that the coming together of the various entities “is the kind of camaraderie and volunteerism… that gives us hope” for a brighter tomorrow.

At St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, Chukka Caribbean Adventures partnered with Carnival Cruise Line, JamVac, RADA, American Friends of Jamaica as well as other entities to plant trees and carry out renovations.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Chukka Caribbean Adventures, Marc Melville, said the entity was pleased to work with the other entities “to give back to the communities that we work within”.

“We thoroughly enjoyed working with the team at St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital on their paediatric ward. The children are our future, and any initiative that contributes to the enhancement of their quality of life is undoubtedly worth it,” he said.

Sandals Regional Marketing Manager, Lyndsay Isaacs, told JIS News that more than 40 of her team members from the Ocho Rios region, along with volunteers, gave the Ocho Rios Police Station a facelift by creating a much-needed recreational area.

The team, she said, also painted sections of the station and did some landscaping to improve the facility’s overall aesthetics.

“We also partnered with the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital and provided lunch for the medical team, who steered the annual marathon surgery and annual blood drive at the hospital recently. It was important to us that we did our part,” she told JIS News.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the St. Ann’s Bay Regional Hospital, Delroy Morgan, thanked the various entities.

“On behalf of the staff and patients of the St. Ann’s Bay Hospital, I express my profound gratitude to Sandals and all the other entities for their contribution and commitment to our hospital,” Mr. Morgan said.

RADA’s Acting Parish Manager for St. Ann, Sheldon Scott, said his organisation was happy to assist with the planting of trees at the hospital, noting that Labour Day 2023
was “a day when the spirit of volunteerism was on full display for all to see”.