Air J Vacations gives kids’ recreation room to hospital
Montego Bay – Air Jamaica Vacations (AJV) and the board of trustees of the Cornwall Regional Hospital on Saturday opened a recreation room on the hospital’s paediatric ward in a move designed to assist in the recovery of patients.
“The role of play and stimulation in the physical and cognitive development of a child cannot be over-emphasised,” said Dr Carlene Grant, a paediatric consultant at the hospital. “And when a child is ill and has to be hospitalised, there is no reason the role of play and stimulation should be aborted. And for a sick child, it becomes a therapeutic effort,” she said.
It took the AJV staff approximately five weeks to prepare the room which they painted in blue, pink and yellow. They also stacked the room with a range of children’s books and videos, including The Adventures of Pinnochio, Elmo’s World and Tales of Beatrix Potter. The room also has an assortment of games and toys as well as seats that are geared at ensuring the children’s comfort during their stay on the ward.
Ten year-old Jerome Bailey, who has been in hospital since August, expressed his pleasure at the offerings of the recreation room.
“I think it’s nice,” he said, smiling. “Children who don’t have toys at home can play with the toys here.”
And, as a lover of books himself, Jerome, who is a student of the Denbigh Primary School in Clarendon, said he would enjoy the books.
Dr Grant thanked Air Jamaica Vacations for their invaluable contribution, noting that the health sector did not possess the resources to undertake such a project.
“We all know that our medical knowledge usually is just the first rung on the ladder for the recovery of a sick patient and rehabilitative services are just as important,” she said. “(But) the lack of rehabilitative services in Jamaica is not for lack of insight on the part of all the people involved, but as a third world country we see a lot of financial difficulties. So it is always a pleasure to us when we can get support from institutions with respect to rehabilitative services.”
Mark Adams, president of AJV, said his company was happy to have done the job and that their efforts would not end with the recreation room that is being called ‘The Air Jamaica Vacations Romper Room’.
“This gift comes not from a faceless corporate giant, but from the hearts and hands of the team at Air Jamaica Vacations, most of whom call Jamaica home,” Adams said.
“They felt it necessary to give back by the sweat of their brows and the labour of their hands to a community that has given them so much…,” he said. “Our teams have rolled up their sleeves (and picked up) brooms, brushes and creativity along with their wallets to an extent, and their hearts, mainly to help bring some happiness to a place that is filled with so many tears.”
He said that Air Jamaica Vacations operates with one basic philosophy – to be a catalyst of growth for Jamaica’s tourism and a catalyst for change for the next generation.
“We all know that children are our future, so if we can participate in their development, we have, in some small way, participated in changing the course for tomorrow,” Adams said.