JPS helping people avoid high blood pressure, strokes
KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica Public Service (JPS) customers will on Friday, May 30 be able to have free blood pressure checks, diabetes education and cardiovascular consultations at the energy company’s Ruthven Road Commercial Office near Half way Tree in Kingston.
Between 8:00 am and 3:00 pm, the power supply company will host a “special health fair” specifically focused on educating people on high blood pressure and stroke prevention.
JPS President & CEO Kelly Tomblin, who was recently presented with the special Environmental Health Foundation (EHF) Wellness Ambassador 2014 award, outlined that the health fair extends from the company’s larger focus on organisational health and wellness and will also benefit the Kingston-based staff network.
“Staff wellness is critically linked to performance and productivity, and ultimately individual and company successes. We have developed a health and wellness committee at JPS to oversee this aspect of people development,” Tomblin said in a release Thursday.
“We look forward to Friday’s health fair for our customers as it will allow us the chance to expand our vision of a healthy workforce to that of a healthy nation.”
The event is being held in partnership with the Heart Institute of the Caribbean, Dr Reddy’s, the American Heart Association (AHA), and the American Stroke Association (ASA).
Brand executive, Dr Reddy’s Laboratories, Antonette Richards said that “Dr Reddy’s, through its ResiloBeat initiative, strives to strike at the heart of hypertension, by raising awareness and getting Jamaicans who are at risk of high blood pressure to get into the habit of regular blood pressure checks to know their number.”
“The 2014 World Hypertension Day theme is ‘Know Your Blood Pressure Number’. It had been documented that Jamaica has a 30.8 per cent point prevalence for hypertension among the 15 and over age group,” she added. “We are pleased that JPS shares our vision of developing a well-informed and healthier population and thank the company as well as the AHA/ASA for joining hands with us toward this campaign.”
