Business View Caribbean | Jan 2019

73 ITAL N amed for Queen Victoria of England, and built more than 150 years ago, Victoria Hospital (VH) is the main and oldest health institution on St. Lucia. It is a general hospital providing a full range of medical, surgical, obstetrics and gynecology, and emer- gency services to the entire country. For many years, Victoria Hospital has been offering free kidney dialy- sis services to St. Lucians and is a beloved part of the island’s history to generations of grateful citizens. However, even for an entity with such a long and notable heritage, change is inevitable. As of mid-Dec. 2018, transitioning from St. Lucia’s legendary Victoria Hospital to the new $167-million Owen King European Union Hospital (OKEU) was nearing completion. The final move of in-patient services will soon take place, and the new hospital is expected to open and be operational in the early part of 2019. The OKEU Hospital project, the largest of its kind in the Eastern Caribbean, is funded by the European Union. On another positive note, there may be new life for the old VH, yet. Victoria Hospital is being considered as a possible contender for part of a US $20-million World Bank primary healthcare development project, perhaps upgrading the under-utilized aging structure into a Mental Wellness facility. Business View Caribbean recently spoke with Victoria Hospital’s Executive Director, Brenda Calixte, and Nursing Director, Sister Ruth Adesanya, and asked them to share their thoughts on the end of a remarkable era for the historic hospital, and the transition to St. Lucia’s state-of-the-art OKEU Hospital. The following is an edited transcript of that conversation. BVC: Can you give us some background on Victoria