HUNDREDS of employees of the National Solid Waste Management Authority’s (NSWMA) western regional offices benefited from a health and wellness fair staged by the company last Thursday, at the Holy Trinity Church Hall in Montego Bay, St James.

The employees were given free medical checks as well as tests for conditions such as hypertension and diabetes. They were also provided with the opportunity to apply for their birth certificate and Tax Registration Number (TRN), while benefiting from advice on financial health and overall wellness.

The health and wellness fair was being staged by the NSWMA for the second time and according to the company’s Western Regional administrator Karen Clayton, it is an opportunity for which the employees are very appreciative.

“The first one was held at the Retirement landfill in 2012 and the staff was happy about it. We thought it was in their best interest to introduce them to the services that they wouldn’t get on a normal basis,” she said.

“We are looking, next year, to take (the fair) to Westmoreland, [to] Trelawny the following year and so on,” she informed.

Some 564 members of staff serve the NSWMA’s Western Regional offices in the parishes of Westmoreland, Hanover, St James, and Trelawny.

Among the companies that participated in the fair are the National Housing Trust (NHT), the National Council on Drug Abuse (NCDA), National Health Fund (NHF), Ministry of Health, Tax Administration of Jamaica (TAJ), Ministry of Health, and a number of banks and micro-finance entities.

—JIS