Handover of $55m in Donations to 2020 Sigma Run Beneficiaries Complete

Via LOOP News

Even as preparations for this year’s virtual staging of the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run are in high swing, beneficiaries of the 2020 execution – Bustamante Hospital, Savanna-la-mar Hospital and the Clifton Boys’ Home are celebrating the successful handover of items committed from the record-breaking $55.3 million raised.

One of the last large-scale events to be held before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Jamaica, the Caribbean’s largest road race attracted some 26,000 participants on February 16, 2020, who ran, walked and wheeled the 5.5 kilometre route to support the cause and surpass the fundraising target.

Bustamante Hospital for Children, the only specialist paediatric hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean, received a donation of medical equipment for its Special Care Nursery and Operating Theatre valued at $20 million, with an additional $4 million allocated for maintenance.

Items for the Operating Theatre included patient care monitors, an ultrasound machine and an anesthesia machine, while the Special Care Nursery, which sees newborn and premature babies from zero to 28 days old, received, among other devices, infusion pumps; a neonate BiliBed, which is a phototherapy device for neonates not needing an incubator; and multifunctional infant resuscitaires, which provides oxygen therapy and monitors the babies’ heart rates, as well as provide warmth and phototherapy treatment.

Debra Hall-Parkinson, Consultant Paediatrician, said the new units have had life-saving impact for patients at the hospital.

“Continuously monitoring the baby can make the difference between life and death because we can act quickly should something go wrong. Providing warmth, especially for premature babies is very important, as there is a concept known as cold stress where if babies get too cold, it can cause their heart rates to fall and affect breathing,” she said.

The Savanna-la-Mar Hospital, meanwhile, received a donation valued at $10 million, plus an additional maintenance fund of $2 million towards its maternity ward. Donation to the institution included patient monitors, delivery beds, infant warmers, baby bassinets, as well as a refrigerator for the staff.

Clifton Boys’ Home, also received significant support with a donation of $18 million to finalise payments for the completion of a new building to house the wards, following a fire which destroyed the original structure in January 2017. Additionally, the institution received donations of a freezer, washing machine, dryer, stove, a television, mattresses, tables and chairs.

The Home also received a donation of 21 tablet computers for the boys who are taking part in online classes.

Reverend Canon Hartley Perren, Chairman of the Clifton Boys’ Home, expressed gratitude to the Sagicor Foundation for the donation which has significantly improved the comfort and operations of the institution.

Alysia White, Executive Director of the Sagicor Foundation and Vice President, Marketing, Sagicor Group Jamaica, said the Foundation is honoured to have been able to complete the handover of items to its 2020 beneficiaries, despite delays brought on by the pandemic.

“It was a challenging year in so many respects and our health and education sectors were amongst the hardest hit, so it was a joy for us to be able to complete this process during the year so that the institutions could continue to provide life-saving care and service,” she said.

White added: “We are infinitely grateful to all who continue to support the Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run, in order to make donations like this possible. Our sponsors, our corporate partners, our individual registrants, our team members and volunteers all came together to make this possible and it truly showcases the best of us.”

Meanwhile, this year’s Sigma Run is aiming to raise $50 million for three beneficiaries –the Annotto Bay and Port Antonio Hospitals and a special remedial educational initiative to aid students whose learning outcome has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Run will be staged virtually from February 12 to 21, culminating in an Invitational Run for limited participants on the 21st in New Kingston.

For the past 22 years, the Sigma Corporate Run has raised some $455 million for various child-related and health charities. In 2019, the Run raised $52.4 million for the May Pen Hospital Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the Lupus Foundation of Jamaica and the Diabetes Association of Jamaica.

For more information about the Sigma Corporate Run click the link below: