The Tribune

By FAY SIMMONS

TRIBUNE Business Reporter

jsimmons@tribunemedia.net

Doctors Hospital will begin a $7m renovation of its 50-year-old flagship Collins Avenue hospital within weeks as part of a broader expansion that includes a new Grand Bahama hospital and a Village Road advanced imaging centre - collectively representing up to $44m in healthcare investment.

Dennis Deveaux, the BISX-listed healthcare provider’s chief executive, said one of the company's highest priorities this year is the long-awaited renovation of its Collins Avenue and Shirley Street hospital, where construction is expected to begin within weeks.

Speaking to reporters yesterday, he said the programme is designed to modernise ageing infrastructure, improve the patient experience and expand access to specialised services as demand for private healthcare continues to grow.

"One of the most important investments that we've earmarked this year is to commence the full renovation of our main hospital on Collins Avenue and Shirley Street,” Mr Deveaux said.

He added that the work follows the completion of roof repairs aimed at addressing water intrusion at the Collins Avenue hospital, and the company will now shift to major infrastructure improvements before aesthetic upgrades begin. 

"This project actually had as a preamble the repair of the facility's roof to mitigate water intrusion. It's a 50-year-old facility, and we've successfully done that. Now we move into the second phase, which involves critical upgrades to the infrastructure, the HVAC, the windows, and then we will move aggressively into an aesthetic upgrade,”Mr Deveaux said.

He acknowledged that while Doctors Hospital has built a reputation for quality care, patients have increasingly questioned when the physical facility would receive the same level of attention.

"Folks are accustomed to receiving excellent emergency care and excellent care on our inpatient wards by the fabulous team of nurses that lead that care generally, but we have had a lingering question of: 'When are we going to update the facility?' We expect to commence that project in the coming weeks with a signature investment back into healthcare delivery in the country,” Mr Deveaux said.

The hospital expects the renovation of patient areas to span between 12 and 18 months, with around $7m allocated to the project during the current fiscal year.

While work begins in New Providence, Doctors Hospital is also nearing completion of its new Grand Bahama hospital, which Mr Deveaux said is entering its final construction phase before commissioning and regulatory approvals.

"We believe that we have five to seven weeks of construction remaining, and we start to hand over that facility for the commissioning sequences. Then we hand that over for licensure by the local regulators as well as the national regulators in healthcare in the country,” he explained.

The hospital, which has been named in honour of philanthropist Kent Rockwell, represents what Mr Deveaux described as "a significant investment, a seminal investment in healthcare delivery in Grand Bahama”.

At the same time, Doctors Hospital is preparing to launch a new outpatient advanced imaging centre on Village Road at the site of a former bowling alley.

"We also foreshadow the opening of an outpatient advanced imaging centre on Village Road. If you're familiar with where the old bowling alley is, we actually plan to stand up, in the same time horizon, a new centre for advanced imaging,” Mr Deveaux said.

Together, the Grand Bahama hospital and Village Road facility account for roughly $37m in investment.

"The investment for the Grand Bahama hospital is between $25m and $30m, and the investment for the Village Road advanced imaging centre is just over $7m. Combined, both projects are approximately $37m of reinvestment back into raising the standard of care and improving healthcare delivery nationally,” Mr Deveaux said.

Despite ongoing shortages across the healthcare sector, Mr Deveaux said staffing plans remain on track for both facilities.

"For the Grand Bahama Hospital, we are looking at a strategy that is going to depend in part on resources from New Providence moving into that community to buttress where we do see gaps, and that's going to be in particular in our nursing area,” he added.

Mr Deveaux said recruitment needs at the Village Road facility are considerably smaller.

"For the Village Road advanced imaging centre, those gaps are not prominent enough where we would see an issue with opening. There's one or two gaps in terms of readiness to open, and we'll close those before the facility opens,” he added.

Mr Deveaux said the projects reflect Doctors Hospital's confidence in both the demand for private healthcare and the sustainability of its expansion strategy.

"The good news is that we've demonstrated that our expansion is viable and sustainable, and so we are going to continue to invest in healthcare capacity. We think ultimately that improves the health and wellness of our country, and we are intent on investing and fulfilling that need, but in a way that is sustainable financially and accessible for the people of The Bahamas,” Mr Deveaux said.