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Heartline Magazine April - June 2005
HFOB must partner with business
Says Stokes & Bynoe’s Michael Marshall
The Heart Foundation of Barbados (HFOB) is one of the best
run non-profit organizations in Barbados. So said Michael Marshall, a director
of Stokes and Bynoe Co. Ltd., as he delivered the feature address at the Heart
Foundation of Barbados’ Annual General Meeting, which took place on Wednesday
23rd March 2005 at Manor Lodge, Green Hill, St. Michael.
In noting that the Heart Foundation has a proven 20 year
record of achievement, Mr. Marshall offered congratulations to two of the
founding members, Dru Symmonds SCM, J.P., and his association with the Lions Club and
Prof. Trevor Hassell, now president of the Inter American Heart Foundation. He
also recognized the many physicians and volunteers who made the organization a
success.
Mr. Marshall however stated that the HFOB, in pursuing its
aim of taking the organization to the next level, must see partnership with
business for funding as fundamental in the sustainability of the HFOB. He
suggested that the HFOB should set “as a prime objective the packaging and
marketing of the various service products offered by the HFOB. Not only would
this raise the level of awareness and disease prevention but it would also
ensure the viability and sustainability of the HFOB and its programmes.”
“Businesses” he said, “would appreciate knowing that key
executives and management personnel are sensitized to healthy lifestyle and the
impact that this can have on productivity.”
Mr. Marshall said that the HFOB should consider identifying
various businesses and tailoring each for a basket of programmes which can
benefit them in a variety of ways, including providing staff and managers with
free access to the annual businessmen’s seminar, providing brochures on healthy
lifestyle guidelines for circulation within companies, and training in basic
life support and cardiac care for staff members. He also felt that
demonstrations should be given to managers and staff on the importance of the
Automated External Defibrillator (AED) in the survival chain.
Stokes & Bynoe has been associated with the HFOB in several
partnerships, including World Heart Day, The Nation’s Healthy Lifestyle
Extravanza and the Businessmen’s Seminar.
Stokes & Bynoe are the authorized distributors of the AED
machines, and are presently working with the Heart Foundation of Barbados to
ensure the wide availability of AEDs in Barbados. Mr. Marshall said that Stokes
& Bynoe will donate to the HFOB $150.00 from the sale of each Lifepak 500 AED to
assist in the educational and public awareness programmes. “In addition” he
said, “we have insisted that each company/organization purchasing an AED should
identify users who must be trained by the Heart Foundation in Emergency Cardiac
Care programmes. Stokes will also annually host a refresher’s course in the AED
skills for all registered AED users in Barbados.”
Mr. Marshall concluded: “The HFOB must see itself as a well
managed organization fully capable of providing a quality service and equally
important, capable of attracting the funding it needs to execute its programmes.
I believe that through the efforts and vision of a dedicated team, you are
already on a course to achieving this. The changes you have made over the past 2
years and the objectives set out in your strategic document “Taking it to the
next level” will help to ensure that the HFOB will be a vital player in the
healthcare arena for many years to come.”
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