Corporate social responsibility a priority for Riu Hotels & Resorts
November 27, 2024
More than just enhancing guest experiences by providing an environmentally sustainable space for a vacation, visitors embrace hotels and resorts that exhibit sound ethical practices and contribute to staff well-being and development along with the community.
While serving as Director of Sales & Marketing at Riu Hotels & Resorts in Jamaica, Angella Bennett met two Canadians vacationing at the Riu Palace Tropical Bay in Negril.
Over lunch, she learnt that Dawn MacArthur Turner and her husband Scott Turner are orthotic specialists in London, Ontario.
“In Jamaica, children benefit from overseas assistance in a few areas, including education, but there was nothing for children born with deformities,” said Bennett who is the Jamaica Tourist Board Regional Director in Canada. “While speaking to the specialists, we formulated a plan that I presented to the Riu family who loved it.”
After four decades as a nurse practitioner in England, Elaine Allen-Bradley returned to Negril which is a destination for retirees.
With a passion for helping others, she started volunteering in the community.
It didn’t take long for Allen-Bradley and Bennett’s paths to cross.
“Once I found out she was a retired nurse, I roped her in because I knew she would be ideal for the project,” said Bennett.
Opened in 2009, the Riu Hotels & Resorts-founded Negril Paediatric Orthotic Clinic provides orthopedic equipment and therapy to children with weak lower limbs, skeletal deformities, spasticity and gait disorders.
“We aim to get our young patients as mobile as is possible,” said Allen-Bradley who earned a Jamaica Independence scholarship in 1962 and was the recipient of the Badge of Meritorious Service on National Heroes Day last month for her contributions in the field of health in Negril. “If they can’t walk or run, at least they can hold on to a grill, stand up and maybe walk to get water from the fridge if their parents are not there. They could at least help themselves a little bit.”
The clinic accepts patients between the ages of 18 months and eight years.
“As soon as a kid is born, we know if they have a disability,” said Allen-Bradley who is the President of the Negril Chamber of Commerce & Industry. “We try to get them as young as possible when they start standing. If they are born with a disability, the surgeon or orthopedic specialist should put them in a serial cast. Sometimes, this does not happen, as the specialists might tell parents that their child will never walk. With early corrective treatment, kids can be mobile.”
The clinic accepts patients based on referrals, mainly from Dr. Dayanand Sawh who is the Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at Bustamante Hospital for Children which is the only pediatric specialist hospital in the English-speaking Caribbean.
“I have a close relationship with him and if he sees a child that needs help, he will advise me that he has to do surgery and also ask when the overseas specialists are coming,” Allen-Bradley added. “A child has to be in a cast about six to eight weeks after surgery.”
Through his employer at Riu Palace Tropical Bay, Richard Parkinson Sr. learnt about the clinic after his son – Richard Parkinson Jr. – was born with a deformity four years ago.
“His mom became concerned after she saw him shaking his legs and took him to a doctor who said he had a seizure,” said the father. “He developed other issues and, while talking to the former General Manager at my workplace, he referred me to the clinic in 2021. I am here today with my son to change the cast he outgrew. We have seen progress in the last few years and are happy.”
Richard Parkinson Sr. and his son (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Missionaries of the Poor, founded by Father Richard Ho Lung, and surgeons also refer patients to the clinic.
Two specialists each from Canada and the United States spend between four and six weeks annually at the clinic.
Last October marked the 26th time that MacArthur Turner and team members from her clinic -- Custom Orthotics of London – volunteered in Negril.
Dawn MacArthur Turner with a young patient (Photo contributed)
“I usually go with multiple suitcases filled with orthotic devices, shoes and socks among other supplies,” she said. “Usually, we take four suitcases weighing about 200 pounds. The biggest challenge is the airlines and getting them not to charge me for all the luggage. Initially, I used to go four times annually, but now it is two to three times depending on the need to see the children. Elaine has a running list of referrals and we try to keep the list to a bare minimum. No one is refused care. Sometimes it is a challenge fitting everyone in on the clinic schedule.”
Volunteering at the Negril Orthotics Clinic , noted MacArthur Turner, is extremely rewarding.
“As an orthotist, I get the privilege of making a difference in someone’s life and often have a relationship with the families for a long time,” she added. “In Canada, I have been a Certified Orthotist for over 40 years and have seen positive results with orthotic treatments for many pathologies. I have close relationships with many of my clients. Sometimes, our journey begins after a major life change. I am often the last step in rehab when everything else has been unsuccessful and they are seeing me for an orthotic device to help with walking, improving strength, decreasing pain and providing an avenue to be independent.”
Husband and wife Gabriel and Jodie Beversluis of Bluegrass Bracing Pediatrics in Kentucky have been volunteering at the clinic for the last decade.
“We are very blessed to be able to have the skills to do this,” he said. “We work with pediatrics in Kentucky and when patients outgrow their braces between six months and a year, we take them back and bring them to Negril. A lot of them that are custom-made cost US$1,000 or more. That is why we need so many of them here because they have to be modified to fit that specific patient. The fact that we can bring them down and reuse them is a real blessing.
Gabriel & Jodie Beversluis have been volunteering at the clinic for the last decade (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“A lot of the kids don’t have consistent care in terms of orthotic devices and braces. We see that they can’t stand but by the time they leave here, they have the bracing they need to support their legs with shoes and socks and they start to work on standing by the time they leave. There is a dramatic improvement during the time we are here. Our goal is to prevent permanent deformity from occurring as they grow. If the muscles are spastic and don’t relax properly or when the muscles are very weak, the bones can collapse out of place. We want to hold them in position while they are growing to prevent permanent deformity.”
At the start of every mission, the Canadian and American specialists arrive in Negril with orthopedic shoes, pediatric walking aids, special stockings, cats and other orthotic equipment designed for children, and tools to adjust prostheses donated by patients of the specialists’ clinics.
They also bring toys and confectionery for the kids
Jorge Vieyra, Riu’s Corporate Social Responsibility Manager (CSR) for the Americas, said the company is committed to the communities in which they operate.
Jorge Vieyra and Crisina Campbell (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
“It is important for us to get an idea of where there is a need and begin to effectively address it,” he noted.
Crisina Campbell is RIU’s CSR Local Co-ordinator.
“Our department oversees social investment and sustainability across the islands,” she pointed out. “The clinic is focused on our strategies of providing health care for children and we see about 500 children annually.”
Riu covers the cost of the specialists’ one-week stay in Negril, with three days dedicated to working at the clinic.
Parrotfish, the most popular Jamaican fish, produce the sand on the island’s beaches. The species also help protect the coral reefs by eating the algae that grow on them.
Due to the high demand for the brightly coloured fish, parrotfish are caught long before they can reproduce.
Montego Bay Marine Park Trust co-administers the Montego Bay Marine Park which was declared Jamaica’s first Marine Protected Area.
“We are reaching and teaching Jamaicans about what we are doing and enforcing protection around the marine-protected areas,” said Sharlinda Forrester who is the Montego Bay Marine Park Education & Outreach officer. “Jamaicans love parrotfish, but the fish population is dwindling.”
Hugh Shim, Executive Director of the Montego Bay Marine Park, emphasized the goal is to care for and protect the environment around Montego Bay.
“Part of that protection entails enforcement to ensure that there is no illegal fishing in the area,” he said. “We do scientific research and we have an educational program where we make environmental presentations to students ranging from those pursuing doctorates to high school pupils,”
Hugh Shim is the Executive Director of the Montego Bay Marine Park (Photo by Ron Fanfair)
Since 2022, Riu has collaborated with the Montego Bay Marine Park Trust on the parrotfish conservation project.
“One of Riu’s key selling points is the white sandy beaches,” Campbell noted. “Our business in Jamaica would be impacted if the coral reefs are not protected. Hotel staff volunteer by helping to raise awareness and clean the foreshore.
