The Tribune

By ALESHA CADET

Tribune Features Reporter

acadet@tribunemedia.net

AFTER studying anthropology and working with a Hollywood makeup pioneer in the United States, Leslie Simone Gibson has returned to the Bahamas to launch a medical travel agency.

Ms Gibson has lived in the US for 26 years – 10 years in the Washington, DC, area and 16 years in California. There, she studied anthropology at the Santa Rosa College.

Outside of university, she trained privately under world-renowned Hollywood makeup artist Dina Ousley, the inventor of airbrush makeup which is widely used in the cinema and television industries.

After moving back to Nassau and opening her EYECON Bahamas Salon in 2013, she has now turned her attention to a new venture.

According to Ms Gibson, her Bahealth & Beauty agency, based out of Sandyport, is dedicated to supporting healthcare in the Bahamas by offering second opinions, medical solutions and assisting Bahamian doctors with client retention.

The medical travel agency, she said, gives Bahamian patients and medical specialists the opportunity to enjoy vacations, medical care as well as training as they travel to Cuba, where they can also experience the local tourist attractions and dynamic culture.

The Bahealth & Beauty experience covers services from accommodation, transportation and food to medical check-ups, diabetic treatment, drug and alcohol rehab, dermatology, cancer surgery, as well as medical training for doctorates in medicine, Bachelor degrees in nursing, clinical bioanalysis and more.

“When I moved back to the Bahamas and opened my salon, many of my beauty clients from Los Angeles contacted me often to inquire about cosmetic surgery in Cuba. Their careers are heavily dependent upon their physical appearance; they needed their cosmetic procedures to be confidential and safe and they rely on me for cosmetic and beauty advice,” Ms Gibson.

“I started Bahealth & Beauty because I saw that many of my LA clients needed information about safe and affordable cosmetic procedures to maintain and enhance their careers. I also saw that many Bahamian doctors needed a way to offer their patients second opinions as well as affordable medical treatments and surgeries that are not yet available in the Bahamas or the United States.

“And to answer many people’s number one question, yes, Cuba is safe. Cuba is ranked the safest country in the western hemisphere.”

She said Bahealth & Beauty is her way of doing what she can as a good citizen of the Bahamas and to assist the country in benefiting from Cuba’s strengths, which are its medical treatments and medical training.

“My desire is for Bahealth & Beauty is to assist the Bahamas in becoming one of the world’s healthiest countries as well as one of the world’s top medical tourism destinations, as Cuba has been for decades,” she said.

“Health and beauty are essential to the creation and continuation of man and womankind. I believe health and beauty are the most basic and fundamental aspects to human existence. Therefore, these two things interest me. When people feel truly healthy and beautiful they have more confidence and motivation to live to their fullest God-given potential, and they have a desire to uplift and inspire others. Health and beauty combined is essential for a healthy spirit and makes people better people.”

Ms Gibson said Bahamian doctors can rest easy knowing there is trusted agency that they can utilise and work with to send patients to Cuba to receive medical treatment and procedures that are not yet available in the Bahamas and not yet affordable in the United Stated. She said Bahamian patients can be relieved to know that they can go through her agency to receive affordable, safe and effective medical and health care, and also a vacation to Cuba at the same time.

She noted that Bahealth & Beauty is fully licenced in the Bahamas; VAT certified; certified by the Bahamas Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Cuba in the Bahamas. The company also has a legal partnership with Cuba’s Ministry of Health.