Shetty hospital finished

| 17/02/2014

(CNS): The much anticipated hospital facility in East End is officially built. Health City Cayman Islands received complete ownership of the new building on Valentine’s Day when the contractor Neil Armstrong from Cayman Healthcare Construction Group handed over the keys, almost one year to the day after construction began on 13 February 2013 and within the anticipated timetable. The official opening is set for next Tuesday and Gene Thompson recently stated that the first patients will be treated at the facility sometime in mid-March. The hospital is being heralded as the beginning of a third economic pillar for Cayman of medical tourism.

The installation of furniture and equipment is now underway and tours of the facility will commence next week for most school children over the age of 13 from Monday, 17 February through Thursday, 20 February. An Open House is scheduled for Friday, 21 February, when all members of the community are invited to attend. This will be the only time that anyone will be allowed to view all areas of the facility prior to its operation.

At the end of the week of festivities the facility will undergo sterilization, where various areas will be cordoned off for access by medical staff only.

The 107,000 square foot building will house 140 beds for tertiary care and has been built to the highest safety and JCI standards, officials said, allowing it to withstand the most extreme weather conditions, such as category 5 hurricanes.

Health City Cayman Islands is a partnership of Narayana Hospitals, Ascension Health and support by the Cayman Islands government. The building includes on-site medical waste autoclaving and incineration, a self-contained oxygen generation system, full back up electrical generation for the entire hospital and Category 5 hurricane rating. The HCCI will allow for the harvesting of rain water, and recycling of waste streams and includes composting systems. It will also have an on-site sewage treatment system with treated effluent used for irrigation.

There is a 250,000-gallon water supply (potable, grey and fire protection) available, high levels of energy efficiency and safety standards, such as the facility’s future solar power, which will be operational later in 2014; and in the near future SWAC (Salt Water Air Conditioning) will be available within the site, helping to lower air conditioning costs up to 80%.

The hospital was spearheaded by renowned Indian heart surgeon Dr Devi Shetty, a pioneer in affordable healthcare in his native country. This project is one of his first outside India and was originally targeted at the North American market. Since its inception, however, the model has redirected its attention to the regional and Latin American market.

Shetty believes that socioeconomic background should not determine access to high quality tertiary healthcare.

“With Health City Cayman Islands, patients will welcomed with open arms from all walks of life and provided with the highest level of healthcare services in a self-sufficient building from qualified providers at economical costs,” a spokesperson for the project stated.

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  1. MEM says:

    Awesome! I'm glad to hear this and will hopefully be attending the open house.

    • Anonymous says:

      Good for you. Open house will be from 9 to 5 for the general public on Friday. Would love to go but unfortunately I will be at work. And I am sure the majority of the island would be as well.

  2. Turtle Stew says:

    Will the insurance companies now insist that heart services are completed locally instead of  USA? Cayman watch and see what a farce this going to be when your love one refuses medical attention of their choice……..time a ticking.

  3. Anonymous says:

    So what does this mean for the other hospitals..

    • anon says:

      Competition. If Health City can work out something with 911 to get half or at least a portion of calls that would be very good for them. HSA has tens of thousands of visits to their A&E annually and everytime you see an ambulance in action, that's where they end up.

  4. The Pastafarian says:

    I still think this is another of our previous leaders' boondoggles.  How much of our money has been poured into this already?  How much more will be spent?  Does anyone really think the world will flock to the Caymans to get medical care?  I don't.

  5. Anonymous says:

    What a great Sucess Story.

    I hope to see similar stories in the near future.

    Well done to all those who did their part. I think Mr. Thompson executed this well and hopefully we can all learn from him.

     

     

  6. Anonymous says:

    thanks to Mckeeva!

  7. Anonymous says:

    I hope Gene and Shetty give Caymanians jobs and real opportunities especially when you consider the length and terms of the concession package which is worth 100m to the Cayman Islands.

    • Anonymous says:

      16:12, Shetty and Thompson dont need to "GIVE" Caymanians anything. This is a hospital you are talking about, not a gas station. Caymanians need to "EARN" a position by getting the right education and qualifications, and then working hard. Are they suppose to GIVE nursing jobs to whoever walks in the door? How about radiologists, X-Ray technicians, pharmacists, doctors, surgeons. Get real!  

      And cogratulations to Dr. Sheety, Gene Thompson and Neil Armstrong for completing the first phase. We wish them nothing but success! 

  8. Anonymous says:

    It would be great to see howmany Caymanians they have hired… I know i applied and am qualified but not even an email reply or any form of communication from them… Honestly this is a typical Thompson move!!!!!!!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      What job did you apply for ? We'd like to also know what you're qualifications are..

    • Hopeful in Cayman says:

      I sincerely hope you are not a nurse, as no self-respecting professional nurse in this part of the world should accept salaries as advertised by this hospital. Oh, but never mind, we've changed the law so that they can bring in all the nurses they wish and pay them insulting amounts. Mini rant over now!

    • Anonymous says:

      Same here ot an answer and was told there was to be a heavy hiring from India, another mckeeva sell out

  9. Anonymous says:

    Why did they first tell us they were targeting the US market and now they are more interested in serving the Caribbean, saying 'all walks of life'???  Is this a way of saying they won't be bringing medical tourism that will spin off to benefit our local economy (restaurants, shops, etc) … just low paying patients that only benefit themselves – Narayana Hospitals?

    Seems like a bait and switch.  Next they will be targeting the local population to the detriment of our own hospitals, doctors and pharmacies!

  10. Knot S Smart says:

    This is positive news and I wish them success…

    And I wont spoil my congratulations by asking 'when will the pretty Indian nurses arrive?'…

    • Hopeful in Cayman says:

      I hope those "pretty Indian nurses" quickly wise up to the fact that their advertised salary is a slap in the face to the profession of nursing. 

  11. Anonymous says:

    Why has the target market now shifted towards latin america & the caribbean region now?

    • Robert I. says:

      My *guess* is that it may have something to do with marketing to Americans without being accredited by Joint Commission. It's like a gold star badge that all American hospitals need to have and although built to JCI standards, Health City needs to be accessed first and this takes time beyond the official opening.

      I also believe that the referrals from their Amercian partner Ascension Health won't be able to happen until they get this accrediation. Again, it's all my guess. Could be far from reality.

  12. Anonymous says:

    Surely you mean Phase One is finished – this is a 2,000 bed hospital, and the completed section only beds 140….

  13. Anonymous says:

    I’m hearing the salary is low! Let me guess, more cheap or slave Labour!

  14. Anonymous says:

    This is an excellent success story that has been years in the making. I give credit to the people that started this in motion. I am sure the that we will see the positive results of this achivement for generations to come..

  15. Anonymous says:

    Awesome!

  16. Anonymous says:

    That's one small step for heath…one giant leap for healthcare…

  17. Anonymous :) says:

    Marc Scotland / McKeeva Bush – congratulations!

  18. Anonymous says:

    Very Nice….congrats !!!

     

  19. Anonymous says:

    I'm surprised it has got this far…it will be very interesting to see what happens from here….

  20. Anonymous says:

    And it was build mostly by Caymanian workers that Mr. Thompson felt deserved to be given a chance to work and prove themselves before judging them. He should be recognised for how employers in simailar industries should  treat Caymanian workers.