Director Bruce spoke earlier this month about the launch of a very important charitable foundation, whose mission is to improve the quality of health care for all people of the Cayman Islands. The George Town Hospital was built over 13 years ago, and much of the equipment is in need of replacement. In fact, $8.7 million is needed to replace equipment in the medical, maternity and surgical wards, the operating theatre, admission & emergency, dialysis and laboratories, plant and facilities, and critical care, just to name a few.
The reality is that Government funding on an annual basis only goes so far as there are so many other demands on Government such as education, infrastructure, law enforcement, social services, just to name a few. In fact the Government has had to deal with budget deficits in 2009 and 2010, and now 2011, and can ill afford to invest in our health care system. So if we want better health care for us, our families, friends and employees we have to invest in our health care system.
This is no different than hospitals in North America and Europe who were faced with the same problem many years ago. These hospitals relied heavily on their own operations and government subsidies to fund their daily operating needs, and there was insufficient money to purchase new equipment, fund capital projects and research, which is the reason why communities got together and invested in their hospitals. Many of these hospitals became world class medical centres through donations made by the public to foundations established to invest in their health care. This allowed these hospitals to attract and hire talented specialists, surgeons and medical staff, and expand the services offered to the public.
By investing in our hospital:
1. We can expand the services that the hospital currently offers, so that fewer patients would have to go off Island for treatment.
2. We will have state of the art medical equipment….and can attract more qualified surgeons, specialists, technicians and medical staff.
3. We can attract more professionals, entrepreneurs and their families to relocate to Cayman knowing we have a quality hospital with expanded services.
4. We can attract more tourists knowing we have a quality hospital with expanded services.
5. We can help the Country expand into medical tourism to perhaps become a regional medical centre for the Caribbean.
Now all this won’t happen unless we the public get involved. The longer we wait to get involved, the longer the quality of our health care will continue to have its limitations…and those limitations could increase. Our club—together with Grand Cayman and Central—hope to make a donation to the Caring for Life Foundation by way of a matching grant through the Rotary Foundation. If you would like to know more about the Caring for Life Foundation, speak with Director Bruce or Director Kim.
