The Hon. Dr. Michael R. Darville, Minister of Health and Wellness, joined by Prime Minister of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, the Hon. Philip Davis and Member of Parliament for Central and South Eleuthera, the Hon. Clay Sweeting, officially broke ground on Wednesday morning, October 30th, 2024 on the long-promised, discussed and awaited, Palmetto Point Advanced Urgent HealthCare Centre.
The ceremony that morning, saw the attendance of local and national healthcare professionals, numerous government officials, as well as local stakeholders, and Eleuthera community members.
Attendees were greeted by Dr. Philip Swann, Acting Director of Public Health, who in his welcoming remarks informed of the ongoing work within the Ministry of Health and Wellness, during the past two years – dubbed as phase one, to complete renovations in more than sixty-five clinics and healthcare facilities across the country, including in Eleuthera (Spanish Wells, Harbour Island, Bogue, Hatchet Bay, James’ Cistern). The ground breaking in Palmetto Point, he added, was part of the Ministry’s phase two, “During this phase, there will be groundbreaking activities signifying construction for as many as ten new health facilities, across the archipelago – from Mayaguana in the south to Moore’s Island in the north.” He also informed that the ministry had engaged professionals to carry out community surveys, ahead of groundbreaking, to ascertain which services residents wanted to see within the new facility. Assessments, he said, had also been done on the vulnerabilities of the site, in the case of hurricanes and flooding, etc…, and the data used in the design of the health facility to be constructed. He described the new facility in Palmetto Point, as one that would be purposely built for resilience.
Dr. Darville describing the details of the new build, outlined, “This facility will serve as the nucleus for all of the facilities here on Eleuthera… Once completed, this Advanced Urgent HealthCare Facility in Palmetto Point will reduce the need for long journeys and unnecessary airlift to the capital… This facility is designed with the future growth and development of Eleuthera in mind. Spread over four (4) acres, this single-story healthcare facility will cover 14,500 square feet. It will consist of the main clinic, which has an attached morgue, a stand-alone medical waste building, and stand-alone emergency service quarters. This facility will offer a variety of services, including pharmacy, laboratory, x-ray, telemedicine and digitized services so that patients would be connected with our digital platform in the capital. Additionally, specialized areas will include, a dental room, a fully modern surgical suite, two overnight recovery beds on a ward, and a comprehensive care program that will be established on the island. The design will feature hurricane impact windows and doors, to ensure resilience in the face of natural disasters. The building will also be EDGE certified for environmental sustainability. Both the healthcare facility and the parking facility are also designed with easy access for those with disabilities.”
Prime Minister Davis highlighted the significance of the project in his remarks, stating, “This groundbreaking reinforces our commitment to equitable healthcare across The Bahamas, aligning with our vision outlined in our Blueprint for Change.”
Nurse Cornell Johnson, part of the local force of nurses providing vital service within Eleuthera, and the current branch chairperson for the Nurses Association of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas (NACB), commented about the groundbreaking, “A facility of this magnitude is much needed for the island of Eleuthera, and much deserved by the residents. Sometimes people have to go into Nassau for things they might have been able to have it resolved here. So, it will be good to be able to have the medical staff that is here, and our team of nurses, which are the backbone, as well as our medical officers and support staff. We need to be able to fully utilize these persons, but in order for nurses and medical officers to be able to do their jobs, they need the tools, the environment, the infrastructure. So, in order for us to be effective we need to have a facility that is state-of-the-art that helps us to be able to provide healthcare to the standard in which the people of Eleuthera, as well as visitors, deserve. So, we are just excited, to see that this is finally starting, and it looks like it is going to happen. We are excited and we are on board. We are ready to work. We work in all kinds of conditions – so having the actual ideal conditions will help us to provide optimum healthcare… We are going to trust the process, and watch the progress of this facility.”
Included in the audience on the Wednesday, were also a bevy of local nurses dressed in bright yellow, all involved in the midwifery training program – intended to improve the delivery of birthing healthcare services across the island.
nurse-midwife Bellot.
General contractor for the project, Mr. John Norris ‘Giant’ Carey, stated that he did not see, at this time, any major challenges to getting the construction done, within the required time period, saying, “When I go into something, I put all that I have into it, with God’s help… I have enough people here, that I don’t have to import people. So, we can get the job done if everybody puts their shoulder to the wheel.” He also expressed that as an Eleutheran, the project was close to his heart, and that he would be working closely with all of the various subcontractors involved to get the job done. He shared that he had seen first-hand the concern people moving in to the island had about the ability to access healthcare if they were to get sick, and hoped that with successful completion, that fear would be put to rest.
The Palmetto Point Advanced Urgent HealthCare Facility is expected to be completed within 15 months of the contractor’s mobilization.
