Friends of Hospice and BHB sign memorandum of understanding

11 July 2019: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) and Friends of Hospice, the charity that has been supporting Bermuda’s only hospice Agape House for 25 years, today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to allow Friends of Hospice to develop a new purpose-built hospice facility on the BHB-owned Harbour Vista site, situated at 25 Berry Hill Road, Paget.

Venetta Symonds, BHB CEO (seated) and Alison Soares, Friends of Hospice Chairman, sign the MOU

This Memorandum of Understanding allows Friends of Hospice to move forward with the development of the 1.23-acre site to build a hospice facility that will serve the Bermuda community for many years to come. The new site, situated on a hilltop adjacent to Kind Edward VII Memorial Hospital, will provide patients and their families with a peaceful and intimate setting with view of both Hamilton Harbour and Bermuda’s South Shore. The new facility will have 8 single patient rooms, each with access to an outdoor balcony, a central nursing station, as well as meeting rooms for families, a meditation room, all surrounded by beautiful and serene gardens.

Friends of Hospice chairman Alison Soares, said, “This is another exciting step towards creating a much-needed purpose-built new residential hospice facility for our Bermuda community. While our existing facility provides excellent care, the needs of the community have grown beyond what we can realistically and effectively provide in our existing facility, which is well over 100 years old in some parts. It is our vision that everyone deserves the right to compassion, dignity, respect and comfort in their final days and our plans for the new build will position us well to continue to provide the best hospice and palliative care for many years to come.

“There is still much work to be done before we start construction,” Ms Soares said, “but we are grateful to BHB for making it possible for us to move forward. While plans are already at an advanced stage, this allows us to complete plans with the architects, finalize costs and timelines and ultimately share all details with the community, which will be in the coming weeks.”

BHB CEO, Venetta Symonds, added: “We are very pleased to formally sign this MOU, which paves the way towards a new hospice building. Both BHB and Friends of Hospice staff working in partnership help ensure a wonderful and caring service to patients and their families. A purpose-built building provides opportunities to fully realize all the potential of this wonderful hospice service. We remain grateful to Friends of Hospice for their dedicated support and involvement over 25 years, and we are excited to move forward on this exciting project with them.”

Bermuda Hospitals Board owns and operates Agape House, which cares for patients with a broad range of serious and life-threatening illnesses, taking a holistic approach to patient care in line with international best practices. Friends of Hospice (Bermuda charity #391) is the charity providing financial support to Agape House, as well as specialized therapeutic programmes and services that are complementary to medical treatment, as well as meal services, and a number of other support services.

Additional details on Friends of Hospice’s plans for a new hospice facility – including architectural drawings and fundraising plans – will be forthcoming by end of summer.

Bacardi Wins Bermuda Corporate Blood Drive Competition 2018/19 for the Third Time

Friday 14 June 2019: Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health today announced Bacardi as the winner of the 2018/19 Corporate Blood Drive as part of the celebrations of World Blood Donor Day. The revolving trophy and certificate were awarded to Bacardi by the Hon. Kim Wilson JP MP, Minister of Health.

“We are very pleased to celebrate Bacardi, who have won the Corporate Blood Drive for the last three consecutive years,” says Dr Eyitayo Fakunle, Consultant Haematologist at BHB. “It was a keen contest this year and I’d also like to recognise Butterfield & Vallis, Bermuda Police Service, Argo Ariel Re and Sunlife Financial. The staff of the companies worked together as a team to ensure the success of the friendly competition!”

Dr Fakunle says: “It is important to recognize all the competitors not just about the winner: it is the collective effort that makes a difference. We had a record number of 21 participating companies and this resulted in a record number of donations. If we total all the donations together, the competing companies contributed nearly a third of all blood donations made. We cannot emphasise enough that this competition is saving lives and we very much hope more businesses will consider joining. We would also like to thank the employers who might not be in the competition, but who still support their staff coming to donate.”

The competing companies this year were: Aon, Argo Ariel Re, Bacardi, Bermuda Police Service, Bermuda Post Office, Butterfield Bank, Butterfield & Vallis, Chubb, Colonial Group, Deloitte, Department of Corrections, Fidelity, Hamilton Insurance Group, Hamilton Princess & Beach Club, Kiston Group of Companies, Lancashire Insurance, Marketplace, Marsh McLennan, Sunlife Financial, Validus and XL Catlin.

Dr Cheryl Peek-Ball, Chief Medical Officer, Ministry of Health, adds: “This is such an important competition, ensuring we can continue to care for people with conditions such cancer and sickle cell, and respond to patient needs in surgical and emergency situations. Thank you to all the competing companies and congratulations to Bacardi for their third win in a row! There is a lot of passion and dedication behind that winning streak. Finally, Bermuda’s appreciation must be extended to all the competing companies. Know that you are part of a collective that is saving lives every day.”

Companies who wish to join or find out more about the competition for 2019/20 should call the Blood Donor Centre at 236-5067, or email blood.donor@bhb.bm.

Bermuda Hospitals Board Road Traffic Accident Statistics

12 June 2019: Bermuda Hospitals Board today releases its road traffic accident statistics for April and May.

Total cases seen in the Emergency Department at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH) and the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre in April were 129 and in May were 165.

In April 4 people were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit and in May 1 person was.

Twelve people were admitted to general wards at KEMH in April and 12 in May.

Two people under the age of 18 were admitted to general wards at KEMH and one to ICU in April. In May, no one under the age of 18 was admitted.

In April 13 tourists attended the Emergency Department due to road traffic accidents and in May 17 attended.

One patient was transferred overseas for further treatment in April. No patients were transferred overseas in May.

To view the year-to-date statistics click the link below.

2019 Bermuda Hospitals Board Road Traffic Accident Statistics May

Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre and Emergency Department operating hours

Thursday 23 May 2019: The Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) wishes the public a happy and safe Bermuda Day weekend. If urgent medical care is required we remind you that the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre (UCC) in St David’s will keep its normal operating hours – from 4pm to midnight on Friday and from noon to midnight on Saturday and Sunday.

If your condition could be serious (for example, stroke, heart attack, serious injury), please go to the Emergency Department at KEMH, where full imaging and surgical services are available.

BHB also reminds the public that emergency physicians attend to patients in the order of the severity of their condition.

While the weather forecast is for relatively mild conditions, BHB reminds you of the importance of staying hydrated and protecting yourself from the sun. Always have a bottle of water at hand and sip it during your Bermuda day activities, whether taking part in the marathon, watching the marathon, taking part in the parade, or attending the parade as a spectator and follow advice on protective clothing and sunscreen based on the UV Index given on weather.bm.

If you need to contact the UCC call 298-7700. To contact KEMH Emergency Department call 239-2009.