Sagicor eyes $50m Sigma Run target as burnout roasts KPH

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a heavy toll on healthcare workers employed at the Kingston Public Hospital (KPH), acting chief executive officer, Dr Natalie Whylie, disclosed on Wednesday.

And that, perhaps, is a major reason why KPH is the sole beneficiary of this year’s 24th staging of Sagicor Sigma Corporate Run, the 5.5-kilometre athletics and wellness event that aims to raise at least $50 million.

The race has been pushed back from its traditional February slot to March, when a team bubble run will be held on the 13th and a special invitation run a week later.

Both events will take place in New Kingston. All participants must be fully vaccinated, and there will also be a virtual run from March 1-31.

The money raised will go towards buying much-needed equipment for the surgical department and providing care for the growing number of cancer patients the hospital sees each day.

Addressing Wednesday’s launch at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel, Whylie said that the island’s main trauma facility was in need of intervention.

STRETCHED, STRESSED

Whylie said the 245-year-old hospital, with “ageing buildings”, had significant infrastructural challenges, pointing out that the last major construction at KPH occurred 30 years ago when the facility treated one-third of the 2,000 patients it sees on average daily.

“We are stretched. We’re stressed sometimes, and with COVID-19, the team at the Kingston Public Hospital has been even more challenged,” the administrator said.

“We ourselves as healthcare workers have gotten ill as well. Some of us have contracted COVID, some of us, unfortunately, have died, and so we are facing the effects of COVID-19, not just on our personal health, but that of our family members as well.”

Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Christopher Tufton, who was recently criticised for discretionary access to select events for persons fully vaccinated against COVID-19, said the policy was based on science.

“When we take these decisions and we differentiate, it shouldn’t be interpreted as somehow treating one group unfairly over another. It should be interpreted as a very calculated, scientific assessment of degrees of risk,” he said.

“So this Sigma Run, we believe, unlike last year, should have numbers, physical presence, and that that presence should come with a list of protocols. We believe that it is worth the risk because it sends a signal that we are moving back to normality, and that’s our objective.”

Registration is now open for all events and cheque payment may be made out to Sagicor Foundation Jamaica; direct deposit to the Sagicor Foundation (Sagicor Bank) account 5502907486 and/or purchasing Sigma Run-branded athletic footwear from the Sigma Run Shop (visit on Instagram or at @shopsigmarun).

For further information, persons may visit the Sigma Run website at www.sagicorsigmarun.com; contact the Sigma Run Secretariat at 876-9367980-2; or email SGJSigmaSecretariat@sagicor.com.