Omar Barnett receives Excellence in Health and Wellness Tourism Award

Omar Barnett, founder and chief executive officer of one of the fastest growing medical research companies in the United States, Prospective Research Innovations, was recently nominated for the ‘Innovation in Health and Wellness Tourism’ category of the second Excellence in Health and Wellness Tourism Awards, during the sixth annual Jamaica Health and Wellness Tourism Conference at the Montego Bay Convention Centre on November 14.

“This nomination is very important to me, and I am extremely honoured. I am very proud to be Jamaican, with a proud heritage, and to know that my country recognises all of my efforts, truly means the world to me. This nomination also allows me the opportunity to meet others who are like-minded, and I look forward to collaborating with them as true visionaries,” Barnett said.

The event honours outstanding individuals, organisations and initiatives that have demonstrated exceptional dedication and innovation in advancing health and wellness tourism in Jamaica.

As a nominee, Barnett’s contributions have been recognised as instrumental in shaping Jamaica’s growing reputation as a world-class destination for health and wellness. He placed second after the completed selection process.

Barnett has been making waves in innovation as his company is continuously growing to meet the needs of its sponsors, including Johnson & Johnson, GlaxoSmithKline, Sanofi and AbbVie. Prospective Research Innovations Inc is a multi-therapeutic facility, conducting clinical trials to advance medicine and give patients a better quality of life.

His team consists of expert physicians and investigators with over 20 years of experience. Some of their current trials are for patients who are diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, knee pain, asthma, ulcer colitis, diabetes, and schizophrenia.

“Innovation is incredibly important to advance health and wellness tourism in Jamaica and our company hopes to be the pioneer to make Jamaica the go-to destination to receive advanced medical treatment from all over the world for various chronic illnesses including cancer, MS epilepsy and extreme depression,” Barnett said.

Research and innovation, Barnett said, will be of benefit to Jamaicans because of the added tourism value that will improve the country’s economy by creating jobs and opportunities in the medical field.

“More persons in the medical field, he said, will have the option of staying in Jamaica.

“By bringing my medical research companies to the island, we will no longer have to fear another global pandemic because by having research facilities on the island, we will have access to the vaccines at the same time as First World countries which will prevent the death of many Jamaicans. We have big plans and we cannot wait to get started,” Barnett said.

Prospective Research Innovations Inc is located in Rancho Cucamonga, California. Barnett and his hard-working team, including his wife and Executive Brand Director Elvira Guzman, will develop nine additional medical research facilities in California within the next five years, and then they will expand globally.

He attributes his success to fulfilling a need within the medical research community, a facility with staff members that resemble the patients, so they feel at ease while at the facility.

“We have created medical research facilities that cater to the patients’ needs so that they can complete studies and in turn we are able to aid in the advancement of medications and medical equipment. Without medical research facilities like ours, medications and medical equipment would simply not exist. Our industry is vigorous and difficult, but the hard work is definitely worth it,” Barnett said.

Recently, Barnett and his wife launched PRI Wellness and Beauty where they cater to cancer patients who are having a difficult time with chemotherapy and radiation.

“Unfortunately, we learned these lessons through the passing of my mother, Mavis Samuels and my wife’s mother, Frances Guzman just over a year ago. After chemotherapy and radiation, we saw their health decline. We have seen the benefits of IV and massage therapy and we feel that these services should be available and affordable to everyone. We hope to bring them to Jamaica soon,” Barnett said.

“None of us can do it alone, we all need a team that can help each other to heal the world. I know that God has a plan and I am excited to be a part of it. I am humbled and I am excited to attend and celebrate this joyous occasion,” he said.

Originally from Kingston, Barnett relocated to California when he was 19 years old to reunite with his father. Since then, instead of going to college and then working to build someone else’s empire, he decided to start building his own empire, just like his father.

Through faith in God and hard work, he is now one of the few black entrepreneurs to head a successful company in this field.

keisha.hill@gleanerjm.com