First Shetty patient a local
(CNS):The Shetty hospital has completed its first operation, not on a medical tourist but a Caymanian patient. The very first person to go under the knife at the state-of the-art facility underwent a cardiac procedure Tuesday, which, given its complexity, would in the past have been done off island, hospital officials said. The first patient was operated on by the chief interventional cardiologist and electro-physiologist of the new hospital, Dr Ravi Kishore, and not the world famous Dr Devi Shetty. As a result of patient confidentiality, the hospital was unable to release more but Dr Chandy Abraham, the medical and facility director, said the completed procedure marked a milestone in the history of hospital.
“We are pleased to announce this day has finally arrived and we are now officially delivering the highest level of tertiary-care services and patient care in our new, state-of-the-art facility,” he said. “We are grateful for the hard work of our dedicated doctors and staff who have made it possible for us to reach this historical day.”
As well as the first local patient, the facility director said that the hospital was now welcoming overseas patients this week. “We have started consultations and scheduling of appointments and procedures and are looking forward to further engaging our guests and patients in the future,” Dr Chandy added.
Although the facility has been billed as kick-starting the country’s much anticipated third economic leg of medical tourism, it will also be undertaking further local operations, Dr Chandy stated.
“Health City provides expanded tertiary medical care in the areas of cardiology, cardiothoracic surgery, specialty orthopaedics and pulmonology, which negates the need for many Cayman Islands residents to travel to the US for this specialised medical care. Not only does this provide a more cost effective option for treatment but it means local patients can undergo surgery and recovery with the support of their family close by,” the doctor said.
Health City Cayman Islands will provide adult and paediatric and cardiology services, cardiovascular and thoracic surgery, specialty orthopaedics, pulmonology and paediatric endocrinology.
Over the next decade, the hospital will expand to a 2,000-bed facility, and expects to be a JCI (Joint Commission International, USA) accredited facility, providing care in major specialties including neurology, oncology and other cutting edge tertiary care. The complex is also planning a medical university and an assisted-care living community.
Category: Health
It is my understanding that procedure that has been made so big of was only to put in a heart pacer, which incidentally is is done here quite regularly by a visiting Cardiologist from the UK. In terms of cardiology this is considered relatively routine. I am glad that the patient is ok but please do not blow this out of proportion or allow anyone to let you think it was more than it was.
Is it just me or does something not sit right? I feel like I must write to show that there are people in this world who do not try to be sold something and buy it hook, line, and sinker with no questions asked.
This story (no offense please to CNS) feels like PR spin. Again, with no reflection whatsoever on CNS who is just reporting. But to me, it feels like someone did some fast work to cover up the new stories on Monday and Tuesday this week with the land bust and, in doing so, did a poor job.
If I may, it feels to me like there is not enough of a story.
If it were me, and I was the person in charge of PR for the hospital, I would want that first patient splashed everywhere. I understand patient confidentiality but it feels to me that I would want that first person to be a "name". It is not like they are the poster person for some horrible disease that would ostracize them from society. If it were indeed a Caymanian, and they did in fact have surgery on Tuesday, I would want to have a release form from that patient that said: I will let you say, "I'm the face of the Shetty Hospital! I loved my surgery! The care was first rate and the facilities top notch! I LOVE the Shetty hospital!!!! Look at me! I'm a new person thanks to the Shetty Hospital! YAYYYY SHETTY HOSPITAL!" I would want that screaming endorsement shouted from the top of every roof in the world.
For instance, think of the first baby born each year!There is always a news story that congratulates the new parents and shows the new little one as the first baby of the year.
Am I the only one that thinks this story is fishy?
Medical tourism is supposed to be the third pillar of the economy. Who better to champion the hospital but a Caymanian. No, you are not being practiced on we WANTED the first person operated on in the hospital to be a Caymanian! This hospital is in your country. Enjoy. Let us show to the world how we operate, how we treat patients and let us start at home in Cayman!!
I'm sorry. This is just too much for me to swallow.
Being a cardiac patient who had to wait 18 hours for an airlift to a strange city overseas and on my own away from friends and family for two weeks I can only give gratitude that I can get my cardiac care here if ever needed again. For the naysayers may you never have to ride in an air ambulance during a heart attack!
Well done Health City may you grow from strenght to strenght. The people of the Cayman Islands thank you and your team very much.
This is good not only for the brave first patient but also for Cayman…
I hope that they get some North American customers soon…
On another matter I am thinking of buying a new heart for my 'mean-spirited-and-black-hearted', last ex-wife…
There is a very interesting (actually mindblowing) article published in NYTimes today
Small Number of Medicare Doctors Get Big Slice of Payouts. Having the Shetty Hospital on this island must be fully supported by any sane government and its citizen's.
Amazing stuff. Thanks for the link. This is corruption at a massive level.
We should have similar concerns with the local health insurance system and billing practices.
WOW. People bitch and complain because of having to go overseas for cardiac procedures and when the opportunity for something positive comes to Cayman you bitch about that too. My son is a cardaic patient and I am sure for one he welcomes the opportunity to get his check-ups and necessary procedures at home. Can any of you so-called Christian people find anything good to say about anything ?
I agree with your post – its damned if you do and damned if you dont here. Can't people ever be grateful for once, or do you have to moan all the time?
Congrats to all involved!
I have had family members (and myself) referred to Miami in the past….and canattest to how inconvenient this can be.
With a first class facility now on island it will make things much easier (and quicker – where time is usually of great imprtance) to recieve quality care.
Why all the thumbs down?? Some very sad people out there. Hope they don't need life saving surgery soon!!!!
To all those people who poo poo all over this achievement, you better hope that you are not going to be one day one of those who is desperate to get a life saving/altering surgery right here on Island, rather than having to wait until stable enough to be airlifted and spending thousands of dollars for flight/hotel/rental car/food etc for family members who have to accompany you to do major surgery in the US!
Also, I guess the ones who refer to the doctors at the Shetty Hospital "practicing" or being "foreigners", I assume you know exactly the doctor you will be encountering when sent for medical treatment in the US. Since you have a crystal ball, please could you lend it to me?
Call me a pessimist but people will be singing a different tune when the first malpractice suit hits the 500,000 lifetime limit that was put into place to get this hospital.
500k is not much when lookig at a lifetime of medical bills an trauma.
So a fear of a malpractice suit should stop progress ? Every single hospital in the world has faced at least one malpractice suit. This is a good thing for Cayman. Stop being so negative and be thankful. Caymanians are sent to Miami for cardiac procedures on a regular basis. Please tell me how many native Americans are physicians in these hospitals. There is a large percentage of Indian and Cuban doctors amongst other nationalities. As long as they have the necessary education and experience it should not matter where they come from.
The $500,000 cap is on punitive damages only. Medical bills, loss of earnings, etc are not capped. It's the additional compensation for "pain and suffering" that is capped.
There is no limit on actual expenses. The limit is on "pain and suffering" type damages. Why can't you get this into your head?
If you are consistently looking for something like that, there is a great chance it could be you who will be the subject of that first malpractice.
9:45, sorry you are living in such a dark world that your thoughts about something so positive can only be cynical and angry. It will catch up with you some day one way or another if you do nothing about your state of mind.
You want the European healthcare do you also want the European tax rates to go with this? I didn't think so…
New hospital, New business, will always take time to build up reputation and clients. It after all an investment. Congrats.
Yes, it is an investment. In the beginning I thought it was NOT a good investment. I didn't see it bringing prosperity to the Cayman Islands, for which it was touted. At that time I felt the patients would not come in numbers great enough to do much for the Cayman economy. I have not changed my mind.
Yes, we are alot like the U.S in all the wrong ways….
Referrals should come through your doctor, through or from one of the hospitals.
Oh really now? I understand that the Shetty Hospital is very busy with Local 'walk in' patients and they are treating everything, not just 'tertiary care'. Funny thing is, I thought this wasn't supposed to be a 'general' hospital, but I gather that is what it is now! Someone has done a 'bait and switch'. Hope the Health Minister knows that the terms of the MOU with the Government has been violated.
Since the duty went up on organs It should give an advantage to local donors
That's where they need to go! Save government money from am all expense paid trip to miami … They can also utilise Chrissie Tomlinson ..
Hopefully HSA will use this hospital instead of spending millions sending patients off to miami
you're a glass is half empty, not half full type of person arent you?? do YOU know how many CAYMANIAN heart surgens are on island?
No. How many are there?
Is it the same as the number of Caymanians who can write English properly? Do I get a prize?
Congrats to the Shetty Hospital on its landmark achievement.
As a Cayamanian I know how important it is to have this wonderful tertiary level life saving facility right here on our shores, where every minute can count in saving life and quality of life.
It is good to know that we can now make one less trade off in living on a small bit of paradise.
God bless you all as you move forward.
Does anybody know how to get referred to this hospital ?
Many people are forced into a sinico insurrance and as we know, tey are therefor limited to governmental healthcare institutions. Meaning I have to wait hours in a waitingroom and months to get an appointment with a specialist.
Pharmacies don't deal with cinico, and the governmental pharmacy many times doesn't have what the doctor prescribes.
Public healthcare in this country is a joke, like in the us.
We need a european, healthcare for all system.
Which you will pay for how?
7:06, I wont pay for it, bobo, Gernment will pay!
Pay income or payroll tax and national insurance contributions first, then talk about social welfare.
Just have the expats pay it!
Two notes for clarification based on my personal experiences, having been referred outside of the HSA both on-island and off-island and also obtained prescriptions outside of HSA.
1. You would be referred to Health City/the Shetty hospital the same way you would be referred outside of the HSA for any other treatment that they cannot provide. CINICO doesn't require that you only get treatment at HSA; it just requires you to get treatment at HSA if HSA provides that service. Once the relevant doctor certifies that you need the treatment and cannot get it from HSA you get a referral form to submit. The Chief Medical Officer will review and approve the form and then the referrals office or their third party contractor identifies a provider and sets up an appointment for you and gives you the information. If you are staying in Cayman you would just get the appointment directly at Health City (or some other local provider). If you are being referred overseas you also get all of the information and documentationnecessary to book your flight at Cayman Airways at CINICO's expense (and a letter for someone to travel with you at CINICO's expense if you are listed as needing to travel assisted, or at a discount if you do not require assistance) and information on how to claim reimbursement for the hotel costs that you will have to pay up front.
2. If the HSA pharmacy doesn't carry the prescription that you require or is out of stock at the time that you need it the pharmacist can issue you a letter certifying that fact upon presentation of the prescription. Then you can pay up front to another pharmacy to fill the prescription and submit a reimbursement claim along with the form from the HSA pharmacy and your receipt and you will be paid back what you spent. I have CINICO insurance and have done this twice, once when a medication was out of stock (you have to fill the prescription and submit the paperwork within 28 days of getting the letter certifying they are out of stock) and another time because the pharmacy didn't carry the medication that was prescribed. It's not as easy as just picking up the medication from the HSA pharmacy, but there is no need to pay out of pocket because CINICO covers prescriptions and they do have a process for reimbursement if the HSA pharmacy cannot provide you with the medication directly.
With CINICO the wait times are longer, the processes might not be easy (and the reimbursement form is a DISASTER – seriously, CINICO that form is AWFUL!!!), and there is necessarily more bureaucracy and red tape, but the health care is entirely free and they cover many, many people, including indigents and uninsured children. CINICO has thousands of clients and Government has a duty to keep costs down by providing services through HSA wherever possible and properly controlling referrals.
CINICO and HSA can certainly do better, but we also have to recognise what they are working with and the cost savings to those who are insured by CINICO as compared with private health insurance. I work for government and I wouldn't give up CINICO if I had the option to do so.
However, I completely agree with you that we need a socialised health care system that provides a high standard of care to all. There is just the small issue of how we as a country would pay for it fairly with our current economic model.
anyne notice that there are always those that want governent to give every thing free.
gee I wonder how will we pay our bills
Good news, The effort and energy to start any thing is huge. I must give kudus to the people who had the guts and whatever else it took to get this far. Cayman will be all the better for this development.
Watch out CINICO patients, this is likely to be where you go from here on out! With the expected medical tourism not having materialzed, and perhaps won't happen, you guys will likely be who end up there.
And what r u trying to say?
Since blood has a 35 day shelf live do they need local donors? Open heart surgury requires 8 to 10 pints of blood on standby. That would be a quarter of Govt GT hospital blood banks supply!
With the HSA providing blood to a private facility what happens when there is an accident and there in blood left at the HSA? There is only one blood bank on Island – the HSA blood bank. Why should our blood donors support medico tourists?
I'm very pleased to read that the Hospital will be welcoming overseas patients, this week.
I will sit back and wait to see whether the media will give any coverage to the Hospital making progress to becoming a successful venture. This would give the Hospital and the Cayman Islands a positive boost – an overseas patient will be encouraged to use the facilty here if positive words are put foward the media.
I really thought this was another realestate scam or a TV studio
I guess i was just a little wrong
Nah. Ya stil probly right.
Interesting. So when is the 'medical tourism' to begin or will they continue practicing on the local Caymanian population?
Gosh,what a mentality u people have. Practicing?
Looking around, I'd say that Caymanians have been practicing amongst themselves for decades.
Careful – life can be a bitch and sickness or injury can happen to all of us! You may end up being one of those who will be glad that your life or the life of a family member was saved by having those facilities on Island, rather than waiting until stabilized enough to be airlifted……..
What a moron. The Narayana hospitals have done tens of thousands of heart surgeries. There is no need for them to practise in the sense you mean.
Medical torusim is expats on work permits
Congratulations to the successful operation. I would like to knowif I wanted to travel to the USA or Cuba for thistype of surgery, is the insurance companies now stating one must complete the operation locally as it would be much cheaper? If so, are the insurance premiums going to be reduced drastically?
WELL DONE
This is very comforting knowing these sort of services is right in our back door.
Congrats !!! that is GOOD news for a change !!
Thanks MAC ! all because of you !! Job well done
Better hold your kudos until the final curtain. The show isn't over yet!
Why are we sending people to this place to get operated on by foriegnors when we have qualified Caymanian Heart Surgens right here on island. It's a shame how money talks..
Read the article – the surgery would have required off island work had the Shetty team – who incidntally are cardiac specialists – not been available. Not an issue of "foreigners" doing the cutting – no one locally is qualified – just an issue of where.
There are qualified local doctors the Shetty just won't hire them they only hire thier own to send money home. They must have made MacLoser very rich to sell out our heath to them .Watch and see as the mysterious heath issues start so they can make money..for instance that fire in the dump which spread desease to make sick people for shetty to work on why do you think they won't fix it,this place needs people to be sick to make money. This pateint was just the first
Looks like someone has already had their full frontal lobotomy….
So true…..these Caymanian heart surgeons have been so swamped with work, they had to build a new hospital to handle the over flow.
Sheesh, how short sighted and selfish!
Idiot.
Wow. Just wow. You are a special kind of negative person aren't you?
If thats your belief that we have such "qualified caymanian heart sugeons", why didnt they get a job there? Because we dont have any.
If we have such "qualified caymanian heart surgeons" why does HSA refer them overseas for heart surgry? We dont have any here.
Think before you start to type foolishness "know it all"
– 18:44 You are a perfect example of a troll.I do not for one second believe that you are Caymanian ,and I believe your comment is only intended to contribute to the Caymanian vs expat division in this country.Shame,shame.
18:44, can you explain how you are able to write but cannot read?
What the Hell is a "foriegnor" ? Is it some sort of a robotic surgeon? I Or is it just BAD SPELLING?