‘Blakka’ Ellis, Terri-Karelle to read to Bellevue patients
SEVERAL patients of Bellevue Hospital will be treated to the characteristically engaging personalities of comedic entertainer Owen “Blakka” Ellis and event host Terri-Karelle Reid today, when the duo is set to read to a cohort at the hospital.
Ellis is expected to read excerpts from Selected Poems by Louise Bennett, while Reid is expected to pull from her debut publication My Brand Compass.
Reid is donating a copy of her book to the Bellevue patients’ library, which the hospital says plays a key role in its treatment regime, citing the benefits of reading on mental cognition and wellness.
“Research has shown that reading for leisure plays a major role in reducing the effect of a range of stressors, including anxiety, depression, and grief. It has also been shown to sharpen one’s wit, intelligence and insight, thereby contributing to a reduced risk of cognitive decline in older years,” hospital CEO Suzette Buchanan says.
“At Bellevue we allow and encourage our patients to read, or be read to. There are books available in some of the common areas, and they come to the park to read from the library there as well,” she adds.
The book reading event, scheduled for 10:00 am in Oo Park on the hospital’s Windward Road premises, is part of an initiative spearheaded by the Care and Compassion Subcommittee of the Justices of the Peace of Jamaica (JPJ) Kingston Association, which will see the association donating over 30 titles to the hospital today.
Custos of Kingston Steadman Fuller will do the formal handover on the association’s behalf.
Co-chair of the committee, Patricia Reid-Waugh says: “Our custos, Honourable Steadman Fuller, CD, JP, has a strong record of supporting communities and organisations that seek to improve the welfare of those who live and work within the parish. The Care and Compassion Subcommittee saw the establishment of the Oo Park Library at Bellevue Hospital as presenting the JPJ Kingston Association with yet another opportunity to provide such support to enhance the well-being of the hospital’s clients, residents and staff.”
Reid-Waugh, who is also an author, will be donating a copy of her book Retirement, A New Adventure, as will author Tameka Coley who penned Hard Gyal Fi Dead. They will both also read excerpts.