The Tribune

By DENISE MAYCOCK

Tribune Freeport Reporter

dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WESTERN Atlantic University School of Medicine (WAUSM) held its fifth white coat ceremony for 25 new students, including three Bahamians, on Saturday at the Grand Lucayan Resort.

The school, which has a total of 116 medical students and has invested $45m to date at its campus in Freeport, expects total investment to be between $200m and $250m when complete, according to a WAUSM official.

Dr Paula Wales, founding executive dean, and chief academic officer, told The Tribune the number of Bahamian students has grown.

She said: “We have nine Bahamian students across the first five semesters, and we hope to have many more,” she said. “It is a very exciting time for us; they’re all doing well, and it’s great because the Freeport community has just welcomed us with open arms.

“So, it is a wonderful partnership with the community; we are thrilled to have Bahamian students with us.”

Dr Wales said the 2023 class is 58 percent women, and 42 percent men, aged from 22 to 41. She said 12 of the students hail from groups considered underrepresented in medicine, and class members come from The Bahamas, Canada and the US.

In April 2021, the school had projected an enrolment of 200 students by September 2022.

The Tribune attempted to contact media spokesperson Rebekah Herbison, director of communications at WAUSM, about the reason for the shortfall, however, she could not be reached up to press time.

Bill Colgan, chairman of the board, said WAUSM is embarking on phase two of construction which will double its size by September next year.

“We have approximately 42,000 sq ft of space currently built and phase two will more than double our size. It will be just under 50,000 sq ft in phase two, and we anticipate that we should have construction completed by September 2024,” he said.

“So, today we have invested $45m in GBI, and I think when we are fully built out, we would have a total investment that would be somewhere between $200m and 250m,” he said.

Mr Colgan said they are happy to be a part of the community.

“I just can’t say enough about how welcoming GB has been to us coming in Freeport, and we had an unbelievable experience. We can not be any more certain we made the right decision to come GB to start this school here,” he said.

Ann Marie Davis, Spouse of the Prime Minister, believes WAUSM is good for Grand Bahama.

During her welcome remarks, she shared news of the upcoming groundbreaking for a new hospital in Grand Bahama today.

“It is expected that, at some point in the future, this new facility will not only be a teaching hospital like Princess Margaret Hospital in New Providence, but it will facilitate medical research,” she said.

She said the partnership has mutually beneficial potential to be the catalyst for growth in the GB economy.

She congratulated the medical students for taking on such a “weighty responsibility”, and urged them to uphold the Hippocratic oath to preserve, protect, and prolong the sanctity of human life when and where possible.

Dr Aubynette Rolle, managing director of the Public Hospitals Authority, was also in attendance and delivered the keynote address.