Shetty site still not settled
(CNS): Local partners working with Dr Devi Shetty have said that the location of the proposed hospital has been narrowed down to seven possible sites but a final decision is still several weeks away. Although the group says it has now finished the design plans, where the 250 acre plot will be is still not settled. Gene Thompson, one of Shetty’s local partners and the man leading the negotiation, said that there were numerous factors that had to be to be considered when it came to finding the best place for Cayman’s Narayana Health City. However, the project was moving forward quickly and construction was planned to start before the year end, he said.
Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday afternoon, Thompson said that with the implementation of two key pieces of legislation (the health practitioner’s bill and changes to non-economic medical damages) there was nothing standing in the way of the project.
“We had to get the laws before we were comfortable to move forward,” said Thompson, adding that although the human tissue and organ transplant law had not reached the legislature, Dr Shetty and the rest of the team were confident that this would be passed in short order.
He explained some of the complexities faced by the team about finding the right place — not only were 250 acre sites hard to find, there were many other factors to consider, such as height above sea level, proximity to the airport and the local road system. He said that it would be east of Savannah but given the commercial sensitivity the site could not be revealed until the deal was signed and sealed.
While he understood the scepticism about the $2 billion dollar project, which is expected to launch the medical tourism industry in Cayman, it had moved into a new phase. In the run up to the start of the work of the first hospital unit, much of the behind the scenes work had been completed.
Although this first hospital is smaller than originally anticipated at 100,000 sq ft and around 140 beds, Thompson explained that Dr Shetty had wanted to get a hospital open as quickly as possible to begin offering health services and it was decided to build a smaller unit to get things off the ground. However, there would still be more than 400 jobs created once it was opened, which would include everything from surgeons to administrative staff.
The group will be engaging a local general contractor to build the first phase, as Thompson said he was confident there was the expertise here on island. Although there had been enquiries from overseas developers to build the hospital, he was emphatic that the work would be going to Caymanian firms.
The contractor and the land would all be revealed over the next few months as the team moved towards its planning application and consultations with key stakeholders, such as the Water Authority, environmental health and the National Roads Authority, which were already underway. Thompson said the goal was to have the hospital finished by March 2013. The team has also begun the recruitment process to find surgeons and there had been over 3,000 applications from doctors around the world, he said, adding that the business staffing plan had also been completed.
The public need not be concerned about the impact of the hospital on the infrastructure as Thompson explained that it was already sufficient to support the project for the first four to five years. He said assessments had shown that there are enough empty residential units for staff recruited from overseas and enough hotel and condo beds to accommodate the patients and families. He also said that airlift capacity was enough to support the people who would be coming to the hospital for treatment.
Thompson said the community would soon see that this project was going ahead and he believed the hospital had public support.
Category: Health
A suggestion that would serve to "kill two birds with one stone" – how about Mr. Joe Imparato and Dr. Devi Shetty and Mr. Gene Thompson et al working out a deal as follows:-
1. Mr. Imparato could agree to undertake only surface quarrying on the section(s) of the least environmentally sensitive acres of his high land – in other words, he would agree to end all and any quarrying, cutting of trenches and digging of holes into his land well before he would reach that (much sought after and most lucratve) moist, fine top quality marl – since moisture would unfortunately mean that he would have mistakenly tapped into the vital water lens/table.
2. Mr. Imparato would be able to sell this quarried fill/marl for a handsome price – while simultaneously feeling justifiably proud of not only having taken good care of Grand Cayman’s fragile environment but also allowing those who are dependent on the natural supply of water (including the eastern district farmers) to continue their way of life without threat to their long term existence.
3. Of course, prior to proceeding with points 1. and 2. above, Mr. Imparato would have invited and allowed time and opportunity for those individuals and organizations interested in, charged with and responsible for the conservation and protection of Cayman’s flora and fauna, to carefully and respectfully traverse his property in order to identify, secure, and relocate (where necessary and possible) those specimens which would be endangered by his controlled surface quarrying.
4. As Dr. Shetty’s proposed medical tourism development will require many, many acres of land (and the highest dry land in Grand Cayman should certainly be Dr. Shetty’s goal as it would be the safest and best location for such an undertaking), Mr. Imparato would then be able to sell his land to Dr. Shetty at the market rate for high and dry land virtually ready for development of his medical facilities.
5. Mr. Thompson would still be the realtor and/or partner of Dr. Shetty’s medical tourism development and would therefore also still be entitled to participate and benefit from this development in the same way and to the same extentas has been envisaged from the beginning of this proposed project.and the entering into of the 7th April 2010 MOU between Dr. Shetty and the Hon. Premier Mr. McKeeva Bush and Hon. Minister of Health Mr. Mark Scotland on behalf of the Cayman government.
6. And to crown it all this could be achieved without the Cayman government taking on the unwarranted responsibility, expense and environmental destruction of turning the original idea of Mr. Imparato into a – (totally not needed as we will have the redeveloped George Town dock/berthing facilities) – East End Seaport!
This would be a win-win situation for all, especially Mr. Imparato, Dr. Shetty and Mr. Thompson although not sure how much economic or other benefits or opportunities there would be for the Caymanian people from the Dr.Shetty project because of the many one-sided concessions and tailor-made laws agreed to by the Hon. Premier and Hon. Minister in the above MOU .
Speaking of opportunities for Caymanians, a sincere request, as opposed to a suggestion but this time direced to the Hon. Deputy Premier Mrs. Julianna O’Connor-Connolly and the Hon. Minister of Education Mr. Rolston Anglin – please, please put the $9 million Brac hurricane shelter on hold for the time being and use those funds to urgently complete the two high schools in Grand Cayman up to the 21st century standards previously envisaged so that Cayman students may have a better chance of achieving the high academic standards essential to enable them to take advantage of the opportunity to get into and study at Dr. Shetty’s proposed hospital training facility.
However, if the above potential for medical training for Caymanians some time in the future is not enough incentive for you Hon. Deputy Premier and Hon. Minister of Education to cause you to rethink and reorder your priorities, please do not brush aside the very urgent need for completing those schools and improving academic standards up to the high level that will be required if Caymanian students are to become qualified and equipped to participate in the many employment and other opportunities which are supposed to become available to them through the imminent development of Mr. Barry Hon’s proposed Special Economic Zone. Everybody knows that the Chinese have always taken their chldren’s education very seriously and even more so in this ever increasingly more competitive world, so if Caymanians are to have a chance to get a significant number of those 10,000 jobs which we understand the SEZ will provide, then it is incumbent on our elected government to put aside politics and egos and do what is right, otherwise the vast majority of Cayman’s children will not have a snowball’s hope in hell of achieving the heights of education that are essential to participate in the SEZ, which project actually appears to be a do-able one with less negatives attached to it than a few others that are currently topical such as North Sound channel dredging and an oil refinery! .
AMC – some good suggestions but unfortunately our government has already signed in stone the agreement with Dr. Shetty and now we are stuck with him doing basically doing what he want’s for the next 100 years.
Let’s hope Big Mac and Da fries use more “tack” to minimize any opposition the people may have in them attaining their goals with Mr. Hon & Imparato for the territory.
Does anyone know if there is a publicly available copy of the M.O.U.
Reality 101….check your mouth!!!
I am an expat and I will leave if you wish. But please realize that if I go I take my Caymanian wife and my two Caymanian children (who also have dual citizenship) with me.
I also will close my business which will send four more Caymanians to the soup lines.
I suggest you be very careful what you wish for because you just might get it.
Cayman was a lovely place, however the big wide world is full of lovely places. Twenty five years ago Cayman was appealing however with all the changes (crime being number one) it is not so appealling anymore.
So I may suggest you dig out the old fiishing pole because if the entire expat population left, what would you do?
This thread began as an educated response to whether the Shetty Hospital would be a good thing for Cayman and an appeal to examine carefully the items contained in the M.O.U. I personally have not examined it, but if the statements by Bushwacker are correct then perhaps more people should examine it. In doing so we may find Mr. Bush, in his desperation could be giving away the farm. So to speak. Everyone should read it to find out. But what is just as disturbing is that I have noticed the ex-pat vs. Caymanian rhetoric is now returning. In the beginning of the CNS forums this was quite usual. Over time, and with open dialogue this seemed to mellow as more of us realized all of our fates were tied together whether on Cayman permanently, or for a shorter time. Let’s keep this in perspective the issue here is one faced by many countries: How much do you need to give away to create jobs? And: Is all of it necessary? If a government needs to offer economic concessions to attract investment that’s part of negotiating, but it should also be done with the full knowledge and support of the people. In this instance it seems not onlyare economic incentives being offered, but disturbing immigration ones as well. That’s a hot topic on Cayman and I hope there aren’t surprises buried somewhere in the M.O.U. In spite of all the fabulous figures we’ve heard the Premier hasn’t mentioned all of the concessions or the requirements of Dr. Shetty and partners. Aside from that, he does not seem to be adept at negotiating. He could, for instance, demand a commitment- in writing, not promises from any investor to guarantee jobs for Caymanians as part of a proposed deal. Instead, he relies on mere promises and projections. It also appears he seems content to sign whatever is put in front of him. Either because he likes being in the limelight.
Or doesn’t have a clue what he’s signing as long as he’s signing something.
"But what is just as disturbing is that I have noticed the ex-pat vs. Caymanian rhetoric is now returning. In the beginning of the CNS forums this was quite usual."
I blame the ex-pats for this. If they just remained silent as they impliedly agreed when they decided to come here, there would be no problem.
The site will soon be settled. After all the inter-district rows, it will be located in that little corner of Grand Cayman known as the Bahamas.
"Cayman, prepare for a shocking upheaval of your traditional system of values in the next 3-5 years"
3-5 Years??? Podna, where you been???
For the location to be acceptable it must have the blessingof MLAs Miller & McLean else they will lay down before the bulldozers or start a petition.
Dear Fellow Caymanians, I’mtrying my utmost best to be supportive to any initiative that will benefit our people not only now but also in the future, I’ve tried to keep an open mind for this project, but so far I have yet to see how this relationship that has been touted by our government as the "third pillar" of our economy is beneficial or helpful for the people of these Islands.
Not so long ago when I had the pleasure of being a member of the Work Permit’s Board, we had the privilege of having this project presented to us and I wasn’t convenience then and now I’m even less unsure, there seems to be too much "expectations" for this project for such a small Island, in my opinion the numbers from the Economic Impact Study done by Deloitte consultants in India are way out of touch with realities that exist in these Islands.
Please don’t just take my word for it, go and see one of Mr. Thompson’s presentations for yourself sometime, the predicted economic activity generated by this 2000 bed hospital project will blow your mind away. Our present leaders have a problem, they don’t seem to have the ability to see the larger picture of things, all the mind boggling figures, would lead any objectively thinking person to question the numbers of EIS, and I’m public challenging Mr. Thompson and his team to be more forthright when painting the picture of Shetty’s "2000 bed" hospital to the public, this figure might very well be wishful thinking.
There has to be a fair "level of certainty" in our economy so that we can achieve these numbers, by simply adding more heads on the ground isn’t going to solve our economic issues, if there isn’t a reasonable amount of certainty on these figures being purported, we might as well kiss our economy goodbye by putting "all of our eggs in one basket". This is where I am stuck with the project because Dr. Shetty, Mr. Thompson and Mr. Premier Bush have yet to assure the public we will get the business which is being predicted in the EIS and this is dangerous and it could have disastrous consequences if we hedge all of our bets on this hospital being the savior of our economy, it could set us back for generations. We might just be selling our future short, we need to have an honest discussion on the direction our country will go if this project is completed and Dr. Shetty is firmly rooted in our economy, there’s a lot of uncertainty out there in the world and we at home in Cayman need to be careful and not allow people to play with our aspirations and dreams as a people.
It’s sad when our leaders of the day see these numbers and they just take the bait without with weighting the pros and cons, only hoping that everything will work itself out and not thinking for once what they really got us into, now we have a 100 year commitment with Shetty, I just hope that in all the hype he wasn’t lead into believing that the Cayman Islands have adequate infrastructure to support such a large far reaching project of this nature at this time, for an island who’s GDP is around CI$2.6Billion, it very courageous to come in with an US$ 2billion project and believe it can work. I honestly wish them good luck for the bottom of my heart …..
how can shetty offer cut-price medical service when everything else in cayman cost 100% more than florida????
somebody has got their sums way off on this one….
Easy …. by setting up in Panama city with encouraging business zones and inviting Immigration policies.
this will never happen….they’re gonna end up doing them in the Bahamas, just watch, its closer to the market of all markets, has a nicer climate, more expat friendly, stuff seems to get done there faster, more local population, etc, etc…..this hopsital here aint coming
Mr. Bushwhacker, thank you for pointing this out. I must admit that I had not bothered to peruse this document as I should. How many of us have?
Shame on us.
Anyway, it is a well known fact that tampering with immigration is a direct threat to a country’snational values, weakening the sovereignty as international rule of law overrides national values.
This is also going to create one hell of a lot of strife as the well-paid foreigners will effectively relegate the indigenous folk who have been ill-equipped by their failing education system to become helpers, gardeners and bartenders. But wait. I guarantee that the proud caymanians would rather not work in these menial jobs which will open the door to another load of immigrants who will.
Cayman, prepare for a shocking upheaval of your traditional system of values in the next 3-5 years. A perfect storm is about to happen.
McKeeva will damned well get his 100,000 one way or the other.
Civil strife is going to foment in Cayman and the muscle of the international community will ensure that “The Land that Time Forgot” will be “The Land That Forgot Itself”.
Cayman will become just another multicultural, multiracial suburb of London with all of it’s problems. I’m waiting for the mosque to get built next. Don’t laugh, it’s coming.
And what would be the problem with a mosque being built here? Presumably we are made of better stuff than the narrow minded bigots in the Tea Party?
It’s not about mosque’s, its about social cohesion.
and what do caymanians know about social cohesion?
Spot the religious bigot…
Having known both cultures, I’d take the muslims over the christians any day for an accepting and loving culture (extremists ON BOTH SIDES excepted).
would love to see the business plan……..
WHAT’S GOING ON?
What is going on?! Where are the backbones to this is society? it clearly appears that the Opposition is useless because such matters were never challenged and it has been over one year!
ahh, bushwacker. ur math, and reasoning must be a product of your caymanian education system. your self righteous, anti expat, anti development tone has infiltrated much of your society. you better hope and pray that this indian actually comes and does anything, because in case you havnt noticed, your economy is in shambles. the gig is up on tax cheats, leaving much less business for your many banks, shops are closing down, and your population is declining. coupled with your fake dollar being pegged to the massively devalued USD, your stand in the world has diminished to that of a breezy flat, little island with savages elected to run it. but dont worry, your crime is so low, that people the world over will line up to lay on your beaches and take tours through your rain forests.
I guess you made your money now and ready to leave just like the rest. I am sure you have done well here than you would have in your own country. tell you what have your fun you too will so what you reap soon. I always beleive in that old saying “what goes around comes around”
Good bye and take a few more with you when you leave Mr.DATWAYAGET
Hey, Distorted Reality 101, I AM back in my homeland and I did bring a few fellow expats back with me. I’m making 3 times what I made in Cayman and even after paying a third of that in taxes I’m still now pocketing double what your Island earned for me.
That and now I don’t have to worry about someone telling me to leave the house I bought and paid for, and get out right now, and give up my job for a lesser-trained replacement.
… and as to the "what comes around goes around" bit, I think you have that in reverse. You told me and my fellow expats to not expect to stay, and be ready to get off the Island, so we did, and we left, and all the money that we spent locally in Cayman stopped, and the people we employed now aren’t, and you’ve got what you wanted. Enjoy.
I’m going to the club for a beer now, and I’ll enjoy the fact that there’s virtually no chance of me getting robbed along the way. Have a nice weekend.
Wow it is good thing that Cayman did not mean much to you!
For someone who is pocking a boat load of money back in your homeland, you are sure still enamored with our lovely piece of paradise. I mean you would have to be, for someone as busy and successful as you claim to be; you make and take time to keep checking up on what is currently going not to mention taking a fair amount of time to read and participate in our Blogs.
As you and many others realize when you depart our lovely shores, you will never be able to recapture and or be able to break free from your experience in the Cayman Islands. Imagine the experience you would have had if only you were willing to respect our people and culture by your willingness to simply assimilate. Remember, it is hard to hate love!
It’s sort of like watching a major crash of a natural disaster. You know people are getting hurt, and there’s nothing entertaining about that, but still, it’s impossible to look away. It’s a lot like that.
And I didn’t say I was busy, just that I am making better money here than I was there.
I agree that it’s hard to hate love, and I did truly enjoy meeting Caymanians who weren’t haters. I probably would have stayed if it weren’t for the other kind.
Wow! Having trouble feeling the love here! Who the hell are you; the Borg Queen? Don’t care to be assimilated, thank you very much!
So it’s job well done, eh?
Expat Bigotry Rife
DATWAYAGET it is unfortunately clear of your distain for the Caymanian people by your ramblings of nothingness. As for my arithmetic competency, it is indeed a product of the Caymanian public educational system in conjunction with that of “internationally accepted and accredited standards.” Therefore I stand by the figures I mentioned. It is this narrow-minded hatred fostered by individuals such as you that perpetuates and bolsters the growing social divide being experienced in the Cayman Islands hereof late.
If you are indeed an expatriate and God forbid, you are in any position whatsoever of authority, due to your blatant bigotry you paint all of us as being as ignorant. Consequently no Caymanian stands a real opportunity within your organization. Hence the increasing intolerance and frustration being exhibited towards expatriates from the Caymanian people in recent years. I earnestly question your intellectual ability, furthermore it is evident that you have not perused the aforementioned MoU therefore please refrain from making ignorant statements such as everything in your post.
Accordingly, I urge you peruse said MoU and then report back in a frank manner. If you are honest with yourself you will concur with my concerns regarding this proposed project, expat or not. I am in no way anti-expatriate and my offering did not convey such sentiments. I am a Patriot that loves my country as a result I want my children and fellow Caymanians to live in dignity and peace within their own country.
This by no means translates that I am bigot like you. I have experienced first-hand the spewing of Canadians who hate all Asians because they are taking away their livelihood and certain communities, the Americans complaining about the Mexicans taking away their livelihood, benefiting from their health care and education, the Native Americans’ tax exempt status, the English becoming confrontational about the Polish and other east European immigrants taking their livelihood and communities not to mention the Muslims, the Pilipino fighting against the Vietnamese and Koreans for the same thing.
It is an absolute right for any citizen to have a fair opportunity in their own country. Furthermore to protect that absolute right by any means necessary and immigration policies are our primary control as territory.
Due to your impetuous and bigoted nature you completely missed the fact that I communicated that this proposed project should progress however not under its current configuration. It should be renegotiated to ensure more equitable terms and conditions that are for the mutual benefit to both Parties. This in no way whatsoever is opposed to progress or foreign investment interest. It is sound economic prudence. Any prudent individual would do the same with their ventures. Inequitable partnerships are never successful or sustainable.
In closing, spring cleaning is a good thing from time-to-time, it forces one to take inventory and assess where you go from here. It is without question that I take great umbrage with you calling me and fellow Caymanians that were educated in the Cayman Islands education system as being indisputably stupid. However, I am more incensed that you have enough gall to call us “savages”. Frankly, you are lucky that CNS maintains anonymity because I would personally seek you out, purchase you and your significant others a one way ticket off this island and ensure you safe travels by escorting you immediately onto the plane tomorrow!
For the record I don’t believe for a second that there are "general" Canadians complaining about our Asian Canadian citizens. First of all, that’s just not our way. Second, our Asian Canadian neighbours are some of our highest contributing citizens when it comes to community and industry… were there only more of them here. If you did meet one small-minded Canadian bigot, and there will be a few we haven’t re-educted, they certainly don’t represent the majority, or even a significant segment of our population.
…so stop dissing Canucks, eh?
The CI dollar is backed by US dollars.
If anti-Caymanian sentiment constituted a political party, you’d be Bill O’Reilly. Congratulations.
Shetty is the best thing Cayman has ever seen and you think it’s a bad deal because of this or that detail. It sounds like you’re a disgruntled local doctor.