MORE than 300 team members from Beaches Ocho Rios benefited from a free health and wellness fair staged by the resort in partnership with the St Mary Health Department.

The staff benefited from services including HIV/syphilis testing, pap smears, general medical check-up, cholesterol, blood sugar and blood pressure checks. Presentations were also conducted on sex education, nutrition and fitness as part of the Jamaica Moves initiative.

Beaches Ocho Rios General Manager Charles Blacher, in endorsing the Ministry of Health’s commitment to promoting a healthier lifestyle for Jamaicans, said that “having a healthier workforce can lead to increased productivity and positively impact the organisation”.

The health fair, spearheaded by the human resources team, also featured a health education booth which garnered the interest of throngs of team members who were shown visual representations of the amount of calories that go into one’s body by eating various foods and the exercises required to help to burn unwanted calories.

In addition, the females in attendance were able to get pap smears done. Attendees also received important information on the human papillomavirus (HPV) and screenings available to both youngsters and adults through the St Mary Health Department’s education team.

Jardine Vassell, the resort’s environment, health and safety manager, shared that the initiative was critical to promoting an appreciation for good health among the team, and that “some team members may not be able to visit health facilities regularly and as a result, the management decided to bring the health professionals to the hotel to facilitate their needs”.

Gary Brown, from the landscaping department, lauded the resort and the St Mary Health Department for the partnership, saying, “It is important because not everyone has the time to do many of these checks or even to get the information on the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. I listened to all the presentations. They were very informative. I’m very happy I was at work today to benefit from this. It is here for free and so convenient.” Brown added that he would also be having his blood pressure and blood sugar levels checked.

Junior accountant at Beaches Ocho Rios Samantha McPherson praised the resort for organising the health fair for the team members and said that it was well-attended and well-appreciated.

“It was very informative and the health professionals really took their time out to help us process the information in a simple way. The HIV/syphilis testing team was very thoughtful and made us feel very relaxed. These are the types of efforts that make Sandals such a great company to work for, and we look forward to more of these events in the future.”