(Eleuthera, Bahamas) – Prime Minister Perry Christie on Tuesday October 30th, led a large team on a tour of areas in Central, South and North Eleuthera following the passage of Hurricane Sandy.
Among those accompanying the Prime Minister were Minister of Health, Dr. Perry Gomez; Minister of Labour & National Insurance Shane Gibson; Minister of State for Investments, Khaalis Rolle; Minister of State for Legal Affairs and MP for Central and South Eleuthera, Damian Gomez; Director of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Capt. Stephen Russell and Director of Public Health in The Bahamas Ministry of Health, Dr. Pearl McMillan. Also present were government engineers, government media and other NEMA officials.
(Foreground L-R) Minister of Health, Dr. Perry Gomez; Nurse Sherrin Cooper; Minister of State for Legal Affairs and MP for Central and South Eleuthera, Damian Gomez; Minister of Labour & National Insurance Shane Gibson; and Prime Minister Christie.
In a press conference, held on the grounds of the Levy Medical Clinic in Governor’s Harbour Prime Minister Perry Christie publicly endorsed the announcement made previously by representative for central and south Eleuthera, Minister Damian Gomez, for the construction of a mini-hospital facility in central Eleuthera, to better service emergency, minor surgery and more complete general healthcare on the island, commenting, “Immediately after our visitations, we begin planning to improve the circumstances that these people live and operate under and that’s what’s happening here today. The intention here is not just to talk the talk, but to walk the walk.”
Central Eleuthera District Councillor and proprietor of Tropical Dreams Motel Resort in Palmetto Point, Mr. Sammy Sands, greets Prime Minister Perry Christie during his Sandy aftermath island tour.
Minister of Health, Dr. Perry Gomez also pledged his support for the new mini-hospital facility, saying, “Prior to the hurricane, we had discussions about replacing the clinic here in Governor’s Harbour, Eleuthera. This is part of a program we have, not only for this island, but for several of our islands including mini-hospitals, the first being in Abaco, and one also in progress in Exuma already. We need to do the same thing here in Eleuthera”. He continued, “It’s a part of our effort to continue to upgrade the standard of care that we deliver to the family islands – not only in buildings, but the quality of care delivered to the people here.”
Minister of Labour and National Insurance, Shane Gibson. His ministry will fund the construction of a Mini-Hospital and Administration Complex here in Eleuthera according to plans announced.
Minister of Labour and National Insurance, Shane Gibson, detailed the part that his ministry would play in constructing and financing the proposed health facility, saying, “In May of this year, upon assuming office, we were charged by the Prime Minister of the Bahamas to review all of our health care facilities throughout the Bahamas. When we came into office, we met two facilities, as Dr. Gomez stated, under construction already, in Abaco and in Exuma. Of course, we immediately began the process of starting to develop plans to build facilities here in Eleuthera as well as in Cat Island. So we have started the process, where we will be consulting with all of the relevant agencies here, local government, and the community in Eleuthera.”
Minister Gibson continued, “They have tentatively selected a site in Palmetto Point next to Unique’s Hardware, where it is proposed that we build a mini-hospital, and possibly scale it down to a poly-clinic. That decision will be made after we have had further consultation with residents here in Eleuthera. We anticipate that the process of selecting a contractor should be concluded before the end of this year, and our goal is to have a groundbreaking before December of this year… Depending on what we decide to do here, we will probably be looking at spending 10 – 12 million dollars.” This figure is a bit lower than what MP Damian Gomez had estimated last month, when he told the Rotary Club of Eleuthera a range of 15-20 million dollars.
National Insurance is also expected to fund the construction of an improved administration complex in Governor’s Harbour as announced previously by Minister Gomez (See Article).