Rocky Garden residents benefit from free health fair

RUNAWAY BAY, St Ann -- Sandals Foundation recently partnered with the St Ann Police and the parish's health department to provide free medical care and counselling for residents of Rocky Garden, an informal community in Runaway Bay.

Six doctors from the St Ann's Bay hospital, as well as volunteers from the health department and the Executive Ground Ambulance Services, braved heavy rains and mucky conditions to offer quality health care to the residents.

Approximately 120 residents, including children and senior citizens, benefited from the health fair, which offered free blood pressure and blood sugar checks, HIV screening and counselling as well as medical checks and treatment.

Many of the residents who turned up at the health fair told the Observer that despite the abolition of user fee at the St Ann's Bay hospital, some 10 miles away, they still encountered difficulties accessing basic health care.

"Sometimes, we can't find the money to pay the bus fare to St Ann's Bay, so we glad that the police and Sandals really bring these people to us so we can get treatment and medication free," a resident said.

Head of the medical team, Dr Micas Campbell, said her team was very happy to offer their services free to the community. "It's a very uplifting feeling; it's a very nice feeling in your heart to know that you can give back and get paid with blessing."

"We had a lot of diabetics, hypertensive who haven't been taking their medication, we had cough and cold, flu, skin rash, just about everything we have seen," Dr Campbell explained.

She said many of the cases were not considered serious, except for one resident who had an infected leg resulting from a nail stick which had not been treated.

Several guests, who were on vacation at Sandals Grande Ocho Rios Resort, journeyed with the team to participate in the day's activities -- interacting with residents, planting fruit trees as well and handing out goodies, including school supplies to children.

Regional public relations manager for the Sandals and Beaches properties in the Ocho Rios region, Lyndsay Issacs, said the health fair was another of the company's thrust to help build better communities through health and education.

"The team of doctors we had were humanitarian persons, they came out from their time off, their day off, they volunteered their time and services and it was very rewarding and very appreciative," Issacs said.

For his part, commanding officer for parish, superintendent Gary Griffiths said the community was developing and there was a need for the police to establish a social relationship with residents.

"We have seen the need to intervene socially, so the police along with Sandals Foundation have decided to adopt this community, in a community-based policing format, and we decided to start off with a health fair," Griffiths explained.

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