or acute care wing, but rather throughout services and support which permeate
throughout the country.
Delivering such a range of services is not without its challenges, because there are
no other hospitals on island. Bermuda, like others throughout the region, has been
impacted by economic challenges. Maintaining state-of-the-art infrastructure as well
as highly-trained specialists and other personnel to fulfill critical services comes at a
cost. As BHB Chairman Jonathan Brewin said, it can be very challenging when there
is a legislative mandate to provide services without the convenience of funding. BHB
is tasked with not only providing health services, but also ensuring service costs are
met in such a way that is sustainable and affordable for the patients they treat. This is
a challenge in the current economic environment and, under the guidance of its chief
finance officer, BHB is implementing a financial sustainability strategy to ensure that it
can deliver services in the years and decades ahead.
This will require hard decisions to be made about
which services are delivered by BHB, and a process
of reshaping the service profile is already under way. A
public outcry resulted when BHB decided to withdraw
its out of hours urgent care service from the Lamb
Foggo Urgent Care Centre, because it was operating at
a loss. Although the government requested BHB keep
the service going, it has been agreed that an alternative
provider will be sought.
Construction of an acute care wing was completed
and the new facility connect through to the existing
KEMH facility. Existing acute care services, including
emergency, diagnostic imaging, acute care inpatient
units, surgery, dialysis and oncology will transfer to the
new build.
The work will result in the delivery of a new state-of-
the-art acute care wing. An atrium, therapeutic garden
area and other architectural elements combine to
impart an aesthetic allure atypical of that usually found
in such healthcare buildings, and the facility takes full
advantage of ocean views toward the capital city of
Hamilton, and over the Bermuda Botanical Gardens to
the south shore.
This is Bermuda’s first public private partnership.
Selected after a rigorous procurement process, the
private partner was Paget Healthcare Services, a
consortiawhich includes the local constructioncompany
BCM McAlpine. The
project has won
two
international
awards
recognizing
the robustness of the
procurement process,
as well as the quality of
the design.
Thebuildinghasbeen
designed to withstand
hurricanes
and
earthquakes, and will
also adhere to LEED
standards, in keeping
with BHB’s intent to
mitigate impacts on
the environment. And
while those standards are eco-sensitive, they also deploy
solutions to conserve on the consumption of resources
such as water and electricity; solutions which ultimately
help BHB also curtail operating costs.
Recognition of the quality of healthcare in Bermuda
has advanced far beyond Bermuda. In addition to
holding accreditation fromAccreditation Canada, BHB’s
mammography services have been accredited by the
American College of Radiology and the pathology
services have been accredited by Joint Commission
International. The BHB has overseen the creation
of a state-of-the-art intensive care unit at KEMH, an
internationally leading center for the treating of diabetes,
and, with respect to the mental health program at Mid-
Atlantic Wellness Institute, it has garnered distinction as
a training site for psychiatric residents affiliated with the
Royal College of Psychiatrists. The hyperbaric therapy
services have been accredited by Divers Alert Network
International, and there’s even an organ donor program
which has been heralded among those reflecting best
industry practices.
