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36 37 domestic and transitory, de Kool reports that, as part of the renovation, a lot of the hospital’s equipment, such as its MRI and CT scanners, will also be replaced. In addition, HOH is up- grading its ability to treat cardiac patients. “Until now, we had to send about 150 local pa- tients a year to Colombia for treatment,” he says. “Those patients can now be treated here. That service also becomes available for other guests and tourists that have an acute condition.” De Kool reports that HOH is also in the pro- cess of implementing an electronic medical records system in order to improve communica- tions and fine tune its procedures and protocols. “It’s a huge step forward,” he asserts. The hospi- tal is also boosting HOH’s ability to swap in- formation with other care givers on the island. “A few years ago, we started periodic meetings with family physicians, pharmacists, medical laboratories and the national health insurance organization where we align development in ICT (Information and Communication Technolo- gy) for each of those care provider groups with each other,” he continues. “And that has led to a certain agreement and roadmap for an inter- twined system where information on patients is exchanged. So, we are looking at unifying Aruba in terms of ICT for medical purposes. I’m quite proud of that.” As Aruba does not have a med school, most medical staff at HOH are trained in the Nether- lands, while the rest are trained in other coun- tries of Europe or Latin America. “We don’t have all the educational facilities on the island to fill the need we have for personnel, for nurses, for instance,” says de Kool,“so we have a partnership with the Free University of Amsterdam.We have THE DR. HORACIO E. ODUBER HOSPITAAL Mederi NV helps clinicians unlock potential by providing access to advanced medical devices. Along with offering sales and local product support, we provides value added services to health care professional by funding training and professional educational support programs. www.mederinv.com Providers of innovative medical products throughout the Dutch Caribbean. PREFERRED VENDOR n Mederi N.V. www.mederinv.com an agreement with them,where they come and train our nurses in a variety of things,while we pro- vide traineeships for their students.And it’s working very well. It helps us maintain a high level of quali- ty.We are aiming to comply with the Dutch medical standards,which are quite high.”  The nursing and paramedical staff at HOH in- clude individuals from Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Mar- tin, Surinam, the Netherlands, Belgium, Scotland, Germany, the UK, Canada, Colombia, Venezuela, Costa Rica, and Mexico among other countries, which creates a multi-lingual environment. Pa- tients and staff communicate in English, Dutch, Spanish, and Papiamento, the local language. “The Aruban population is, traditionally, very open and easily communicates with other peo- ple,” de Kool states in summation. “People speak many languages; most of the local people speak four languages fluently. And that’s something you find in the culture. Also, it’s a small commu- nity, so everything is out in the open. The people here are very proud to work at the hospital. The facilities are a little bit outdated, but what we lack in technology and modern facilities, it is more than compensated by the people. It’s our people that make this a good hospital and a safe place for patients.”