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J. Wray & Nephew pledges cash incentive for frontline workers

Published:Friday | October 8, 2021 | 11:48 AM
Jean-Philippe Beyer (left), Managing Director, J. Wray and Nephew Jamaica and the Caribbean, points to the figure on the symbolic cheque of $5M which was presented to the Spanish Town Hospital on October 7, 2021. Sharing in the moment are Tanikie McClarthy-Allen (second left), Senior Director, Public Affairs and Sustainability, Pavel Smith (third left), Marketing Manager, J. Wray and Nephew White Overproof Rum, Errol Greene (third right), Regional Director, South East Health Region Authority, Dr Jacqueline Wright-James (centre), Senior Medical Officer at the Spanish Town Hospital, and Jacqueline Ellis (second right) CEO, Spanish Town Hospital. The $5M donation is part of a $45M intervention called JWN Cares. – Ian Allen photo.

Managing Director, J. Wray and Nephew Jamaica and the Caribbean, Jean-Philippe Beyer, said the company is set to go beyond the $45,000,000 donation to 12 health institutions, with millions to come on stream for employees on the frontline.

"While we support these 12 institutions, we are going give cash awards to doctors, nurses, and even janitors, as they are the everyday heroes who are working miracles for us," Beyer said.

He said that the gesture will be a significant sum and that it will be announced on Heroes Day, October 18, 2021.

"We have started with institutions and we are moving to the personnel. We may also widen the group to include police, soldier, and transport operators. We just want to make a difference especially during this pandemic," Beyer said.

Beyer was speaking with The Gleaner after he spoke at the Spanish Town Hospital on Thursday where a donation of $5,000,000 was given to the 277-bed Type B institution by the distillery company.

Chief executive officer of the Spanish Town Hospital Jacqueline Ellis expressed gratitude for the timely delivery.

"This money is needed to get equipment to allow for the smooth running of the institution. It is so timely that I can say that we have already used it," Ellis said.

In echoing her sentiments, senior medical officer, Dr Jacqueline Wright-James, said that there are challenges at the health institution that the donation will help.

"We were built for 277 beds yet still we have more than that number of admissions, we see more than 20,000 patients monthly, plus the challenge with COVID-19, therefore any good corporate help is appreciated.

Regional director for the South East Health Region Authority Errol Greene, who chaired the proceedings, endorsed the philanthropic gesture of the rum company as being a "sober" approach to its corporate responsibilities. 

Executive Director of the Private Sector Organization of Jamaica, Omega Breese McNab, also endorsed the effort of J.Wray and Nephew.

"We (PSOJ) are pleased with the $45,000,000 initiative JWN Cares, which will help to alleviate the strain on resources in the public health system. JWN has been an exemplary corporate citizen and is one of the companies at the forefront in the PSOJ in response to the COVID-19 pandemic since last year," McNab said.

- Rasbert Turner

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