56 August 2016 - Business View Caribbean
of one’s inability to pay, no one is turned away,” says
Baptiste. “This applies to visitors to the BVI, as well.
For us, the focus is on patient and quality.”
When Baptiste came aboard to run the BVIHSA, two
of her major objectives were to oversee the transition
into the new state-of-the-art, Peebles Hospital facil-
ity, and, at the same time, to implement the National
Health Insurance scheme, which has allowed an ad-
ditional 30 to 35 percent of the Territory’s islanders to
be covered, providing them with access to healthcare
services. Now that those first two priorities have been
accomplished, she is moving toward her third man-
date: assuring accreditation for the Territory’s health-
care system.
“We’re looking to be an accredited facility in the next
18 to 24 months,” she explains. We’ve done both: JCI,
which is Joint Commission International, and we’ve
done DNV (Det Norske Veritas) International. So we
just finished both surveys and we’re trying to see which
one would be the best fit for us in the international
market. That gives the assurance to the residents that
we meet the minimum standards for quality. It speaks
to our beside care, the way we handle inspections, and
the way persons are referred out of the Territory, be-
cause the continuity of care is really important. So we
meet all the national or international standards that
any hospital in the US or the UK would meet.”
Becoming accredited also helps the Territory assure
visitors that its healthcare system is top notch. “And
that attracts tourists,” Baptiste adds. “It puts us in the
ranking of high-quality care. One thing that we’re notic-
ing, especially in the outer islands – the high-end tour-
ist, those persons who have high medical knowledge,
