AFTER a brief but impactful two-year term as permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, Errol Greene is ready to pass the baton, proud of his legacy but acknowledging that critical work remains.

“As we gather to award students pursuing courses in public health, I am filled with mixed emotions. I’m filled with mixed emotions because this is my last time serving within the context as permanent secretary here at the Ministry of Health and Wellness,” said Greene, as he formally announced his retirement from the role — which takes effect Monday, August 31 — while delivering greetings at the Dr Barry Wint Memorial Scholarship Awards Ceremony at S Hotel Kingston last Friday.

Under the scholarship, named in honour of the former chief medical officer, recipients are awarded up to $1 million annually for health care-related studies in priority fields such as nursing, biomedical engineering, and medicine.

For this year’s staging, 141 awardees were selected from more than 700 applicants to benefit from over $190 million in scholarships, with the Government having spent approximately $900 million towards the initiative to date.

“While there’s a sense of nostalgia, there’s also a sense of tremendous pride and optimism as I look out at this room filled with talented, ambitious, enthusiastic, and determined persons who represent the future of health care in Jamaica,” said Greene, who noted that he would continue to watch their progress as professionals in the health field from the sidelines.

When asked by the Jamaica Observer if his retirement signalled a complete departure from public service, Greene offered a cryptic, “We’ll see how it goes.” However, he maintained that he is ready to hand over the reins to a capable professional who can drive the remaining work forward.

“We have done well, and we can do better. I certainly want to be a part of the journey because I know my minister is passionate about health, he’s passionate about service delivery, and I would have run my leg of the race and I have handed over the baton, so I’ll just go in the pavilion and watch the race finish,” he said.

Before his two-year stint as permanent secretary, Greene led a career spanning decades. His life as a public servant began when he assumed the role of town clerk of the Kingston and St Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) and also served at the St Thomas Municipal Corporation.

He then pivoted to begin service in the health sector, serving as regional director of the South East Regional Health Authority (SERHA), which oversees health services in Kingston and St Andrew, St Thomas, and St Catherine.

He was also a former regional director of Western Regional Health Authority and a former chief executive officer of the Kingston Public Hospital.

Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, who delivered the keynote address at the scholarship event, used the opportunity to acknowledge Greene’s contributions and bid him farewell.

“Our permanent secretary, who is not riding off in the sunset, but is closing one chapter to start another, Mr Errol Greene…give him a round of applause, please. I believe he has done 50 years, thereabout. I don’t want to tell his age, because he is still young,” joked Tufton. “But he has done a whole heap of years, whole heap of decades to public service, and I just want to recognise him and thank him for his services.”