Nevis, West Indies. ?A Non-Tourist-Trap? Blog About Nevis.

The New Medical Centre at Brown Hill

Charlestown, Nevis
August 23, 2010

The Nevis Island Administration [NIA] continues in its quest to provide preventive rather than curative healthcare to the people of Nevis.

Its newest accomplishment was the construction of a modern medical facility in Brown Hill Village.

At an opening ceremony held on July 23, Minister of Health in the NIA and area representative for the parish of St. John’s, Honourable Hensley Daniel spoke of the significance of having healthcare facilities located around the island.

“It is an important component in the preventive care programme of the Ministry of Health.

“It is also an aspect of decentralization where we are seeking to ease the pressure from the main facility at Alexandra [the Alexandra Hospital],” Minister Daniel said.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Social Development and representative of the Basic Needs Trust Fund [BNTF], Alsted Pemberton appealed to nurses and other healthcare professionals to administer quality service and care at all times. 

“Responsiveness to community needs is a key element of primary healthcare. Therefore, with this new facility, you must redouble your efforts and reconfirm your commitment to primary healthcare as an essential strategy for delivering, promoting, preventative and rehabilitative care to the people of Brown Hill and also those who access its services,” Pemberton said.

Several government officials, including Premier of Nevis Honourable Joseph Parry, Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Mrs. Jocelyn Liburd and Health Advisor in the NIA Mrs. Patricia “Patsy” Hanley were on hand to witness the event.

The newly constructed centre includes examination rooms, reception area, doctor’s office, kitchen, laundry, pharmacy and nurses’ station.

Funding for the project came from the Caribbean Development Bank, the Canadian International Development Agency [CIDA] and the Ministry of Health through the BNTF.

Related posts:

1. Brown Hill Medical Centre One Step Closer To Completion
2. Groundbreaking Ceremony For Brown Hill Medical Centre
3. New Brown Hill Health Centre Under Construction
4. New Health Facility Slated For Brown Hill, Nevis
5. Date Set For Commissioning Of Pogson Medical Centre

Charlestown, Nevis
July 21, 2010

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health Mr. Alstead Pemberton, urged eight new caregivers who successfully completed training in the care of the island’s seniors, to utilize their new knowledge to enhance their performance and delivery on the job and their personal development.

Mr. Pemberton’s advice came on Monday at a simple but significant ceremony in which the participants received certificates on completion of a four week training course hosted by the Ministry of Health. The new care givers joined five others who had provided care for the island’s seniors since 2006.

“Seniors laid the foundation for many of us at the community level, at home and the country and this is a way of giving back to them to show our appreciation,” he told the participants.

Senior Development Officer in the Seniors Division of the Ministry of Social Services Mrs. Garcia Hendrickson, expressed gratitude to Matron of the Alexandra Hospital Mrs. Aldris Dias and her team of facilitators for conducting the course at a time when the NIA sought to ensure that seniors received the necessary care in return for their contributions to the development of Nevis.

“Caring of seniors must be an act of kindness, love and loyalty, ensuring that they are enjoying a safe, comfortable and healthy life,” she said.

According to the Social Services Official, the course equipped the participants with knowledge and practical skills that increased their understanding of geriatrics and raised their general level of awareness with respect to the behavior of the seniors. She was of the view that the training would not only benefit the participants and the seniors but also the Government and all the people of Nevis.

Meantime, one of the participants Mrs. Evet Inglis gave her impressions of her course of training and the facilitators.

“The course and the way the nurses conducted the sessions in a nutshell can be described with three “U”s: understandable, unique and unwavering. They are well trained and brilliant, thumbs up to the nurses,” she said.

Training commenced on July 12th consisted of three sessions per week. Topics discussed included practical training, nutritional needs, feeding, prevention of incidents in the home, medication, knowledge on various diseases and conditions and safety and security of the elderly.

The course facilitators were Matron Dias, Assistant Matron Eldina Farrell, Nurses A. Ward Stanley, Erming Hendrickson and Jessica Scarborough along with other members of the Hospital’s nursing staff.

Related posts:

1. Nevis Government Adds More Elderly Care Providers
2. Nevis Emergency Personnel To Receive More Training
3. Nevis Benefits From Emergency Care & Treatment Training
4. Nevis Agricultural Personnel To Receive Training
5. St. Kitts – Nevis To Host Aircraft Safety Training Program

Basseterre, St. Kitts – Nevis
June 18, 2010 (SKNIS)

The Youth Desk of the CARICOM Secretariat and the Pan Caribbean Partnership Against HIV/AIDS (PANCAP) is impressed with the work of youth groups in St. Kitts and Nevis implementing Round II of the Mini-Grant Progamme (MGP).

CARICOM Secretariat’s Deputy Programme Manager for Community Development (Youth), Dr. Heather Johnson, delivered that message on Tuesday (June 15), as she met with Permanent Secretary responsible for youth, Lloyd Lazar, CARICOM Youth Ambassador (CYA) Ian Richards and Community Officer Terry Morris.

“We are impressed with the scope of the projects,” said Dr. Johnson, as she recounted the activities of the two projects being implemented locally. “We feel that there is some good work being done here and it comes at a critical time.”

The regional official highlighted that the projects are innovative in capturing the interest of young people using drama, song and dance. This youth friendly format should boost the impact of the knowledge sharing exercises.

This is evident in the initiative being implemented by the Community Leaders Advancing Molineux and Phillips’ (CLAMP) group. They successfully hosted an HIV/AIDS quiz contested by five churches in the area. Other ongoing activities include creating a safe play area for children that will display HIV/AIDS messages and an informational dispenser unit.

The CLAMP youth group will also stage a dramatization featuring scenarios related to the spread of the pandemic and how to avoid contracting the virus.

Youth representatives from the local Caribbean Healthy Lifestyle Programme (CHLP) are implementing the second initiative under the PANCAP/CYA administered Mini-Grant Programme. The project focuses on educating young men about the dangers of HIV/AIDS with a view to promote behavioural change.

St. Kitts and Nevis participated in the first round of the MGP in 2005. Two projects were implemented by a coalition of youth groups at that time. In June 2007, the CARICOM Secretariat released an official review and assessment of the MGP which stated that St. Kitts and Nevis distinguished itself by having the best overall implementation in the region.

Related posts:

1. St. Kitts – Nevis Youth Groups Take Stand On HIV/AIDS
2. CARICOM Youth Ambassadors Urged to Contribute To Haiti
3. Saint Kitts – Nevis Has New AIDS/HIV Awareness Policy
4. CARICOM Commission To visit St. Kitts – Nevis
5. Nevis Recieves Top Marks For CYA Initiatives