REMINDER: Agape House temporarily moved to Curtis Ward

Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) would like to remind the public that Agape House has been temporarily relocated to Curtis Ward which is on the 3rd floor in the General Wing at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.
The move was necessary to allow renovations to the Agape House building. Workmen on the site report a number of people continue to come to the building looking for loved ones.
BHB also reports that the Agape House upgrade works are progressing well. The contractor is in the second week of the 12-week construction schedule.
“We anticipate staff and residents will relocate to Agape House in mid-July,” said BHB Director of Facilities Management and Engineering Services, Marshall Minors.

Being Alive – Artwork and poetry competition deadline approaching

There is still time to get your poetry and /or artwork entries in for the Being Alive competition celebrating the 25th anniversary of Agape House. Bermuda Hospitals Board and Friends of Hospice, the charity that supports Agape House urge you to exercise and share your artistic talents with the public in recognizing the importance and service provided by our only palliative care hospice – Agape House.

Friends of Hospice Executive Director Cathy Belvedere said: “We want to showcase Bermuda’s artistic side and invite you to submit artwork or poetry or both, on the theme Being Alive. We’ve not seen a lot of entries in the art category but poets have responded. Still we’re hoping to get a lot more.

At Agape House every patient is treated with the utmost respect and encouraged to live life to the fullest. Staff are inspired, and try in turn to inspire patients, to follow the ideal of Dame Cecily Saunders, founder of the modern hospice movement who said: ““You matter because you are you, and you matter to the last moment of your life.”
Photographs, paintings, drawings or other media are all welcome.

How to enter

1. Fill out an entry form: Entry forms are available online at www.bdahospitaldev.wpengine.com , King Edward VII Memorial Hospital main reception desks in the Acute Care Wing and General Wing, the main reception at Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute and Ground Floor Craig Appin House on Wesley Street in Hamilton. Entry forms are also available at Bermuda Arts Centre at Dockyard, Bermuda National Gallery, Bermuda Society of Arts, DNA Creative and Masterworks Museum of Bermuda Art.

2. Submit your entry: Artwork entries can be submitted at the Bermuda Hospitals Board reception desk on the ground floor at Craig Appin House. Submissions must be in by Monday 23 May 2016. Winners will be announced at a date to be set in June. Winning entries will be hung in the newly renovated Agape House building.
Poetry entries can be emailed to info@bhb.bm by Monday 23 May 2016.

Email info@bhb.bm with any queries.

Teen suicide public debate

May is Child Depression Awareness Month

Did you know that the teen suicide rate in Bermuda is much lower than the average in countries like the US, Canada and Britain? In fact Bermuda Hospitals Board Child and Adolescent Services Department (CAS) do not have a single child suicide in its statistics over the past twenty years.

“There have been attempted suicides,” said Department head Dr Sharon Apopa, “but we don’t have a record of any completed attempts.”
It is on this backdrop that CAS invited the Dynamic Debaters & Learners team to discuss the matter.

“Six students from various schools on the island will debate whether the low rate is due to something unique in our Bermuda culture or if it is because helping services like CAS identify at risk students early and intervene,” said CAS Occupational Therapist and Child Depression Awareness Month organiser, Moffat Makomo.

May is Child Depression Awareness month and the free public debate is one of three activities CAS has organized for community participation.
The debate will take place on Monday 9 May from 12:30 – 1:30pm in the 1st Floor Conference Room at the Mid Atlantic Wellness Institute.
“It is free and the public is invited,” said Mr Makomo, “I would encourage folk to arrive early as seating will be available on a first come first served basis,” he added.

Messages to children and teens

On Friday 6 May, the CAS team will be on the ground floor of the Washington Mall asking the public to write messages of encouragement for local children battling clinical depression.

“Staff will be on hand to share information about child depression, the signs, symptoms, services we offer to help and how to contact us,” said Mr Makomo. “We will also ask folk to write a note or thought that they think will be comforting and help our children overcome their difficulties with depression. We will take these messages back to our facility and display them for our clients to see. The messages will act like notes in a large greeting card from the country to our children managing their depression,” he said.

“In 2015 CAS received 387 referrals, 202 were accepted for service and of those 20 were diagnosed as having depression,” said Dr Apopa. “That’s almost ten percent of the clients we see.”

Middle school poster competition

Students at Dellwood and Whitney Middle Schools are designing posters on child awareness about depression. Their creations will be on display at a private event for them and their parents on Thursday 19 May.

“The competition helps acquaint teens with information on depression including risk factors, symptoms and where to go for help,” said Mr Makomo.

If you suspect your child is depressed or have any questions on depression in children and teens please contact Child and Adolescent Services on 239-6344. The 24-hour emergency help line is 236-3770.

Dr Keith Chiappa Appointed as Chief of Staff

Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces the appointment of Dr Keith Chiappa as Chief of Staff while recruitment for a permanent appointment is completed. He takes over from Dr Michael Weitekamp, who stepping down from the Chief of Staff role after completing his three year contract. Dr. Chiappa will maintain his Consultant Neurologist duties.

The Chief of Staff is the most senior physician position at BHB and is responsible for clinical care and quality at the hospitals. Reporting through to both the CEO and the Board, the position is appointed through a legislative process that requires the approval of the Minister responsible for health. All BHB medical chiefs and the Vice President of Quality & Risk report to this position.

Born in Bermuda and educated here to age 17, Dr. Chiappa was appointed as BHB’s Chief of Medicine and Consultant Neurologist in 2008, after a highly distinguished career at Massachusetts General Hospital, where he worked from 1976 to 2011. He held increasing senior positions at Mass General, his last positions being director of units of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory, and Associate Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School. He also served on Harvard Medical School committees for scientific review of research proposals and continuing medical education.

Educated at Harvard and Oxford Universities , Dr. Chiappa undertook his post-doctoral training at Boston City Hospital, Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital, with a research fellowship at the University of California at San Diego.

Venetta Symonds, Chief Executive Officer, comments: “I would first like to thank Dr. Weitekamp for his dedicated and exemplary service to BHB and Bermuda. He has been a wise and guiding presence and set ambitious goals that relate to clinical care and quality, which he has worked hard to achieve. As Chief of Medicine, Dr. Chiappa worked with Dr. Arlene Basden, Director of the Hospitalist Service, to upgrade that service, including 24 hour hospital coverage, improved emergency department admission coverage, and its communications with patients and the community physicians, most recently by providing patients with day of discharge summaries of their inpatient care which are also sent electronically to their community physicians. As neurologist, he has worked steadily to improve the care of stroke patients at BHB, including the use of emergency clot-busting therapies. We are very fortunate that Dr. Chiappa has agreed to take on this role as we complete an extensive recruitment process in the coming months for a permanent appointment. Dr. Chiappa´s extensive leadership and medical experience will help us keep momentum going so that we can ultimately meet our vision of ‘Exceptional Care. Strong Partnerships. Healthy Community.’”

Dr. Chiappa comments: “I’m looking forward to working with the Medical Chiefs, the physicians at BHB, the community physicians and the Ministry of Health to continue the work of improving the quality of clinical care in Bermuda. I am very pleased to be able to assist BHB at this time and work with my colleagues to ensure we continue to make progress to improve standards of governance and medical practice.”

A co-founder of the electronic Journal of Contemporary Neurology, Dr. Chiappa was Editor of the publication from 1995 to 2004. He was aslo Co-Editor of UpToDate in Neurology from 1995 to 1997.

Alongside many research papers, Dr Chiappa also authored and co-authored numerous books and monographs, and lectured extensively internationally.

Bermuda Organ Donor Association and Bermuda Hospitals Board celebrate Donate Life Week

Focusing Bermuda’s attention on organ donation and having everyone consider becoming a donor is the aim of the Bermuda Organ Donor Association and Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) in Organ Donation Awareness Week. This year the campaign will run from Monday 25 April to Friday 29 April.

“Have the Conversation” is the theme this year and it refers to the need for those who want to have their organs donated, to discuss their desire with their loved ones. Unlike the US where you can simply register to have your organs donated in the event you die, in Bermuda it is the next of kin who decide. That’s why the Bermuda Organ Donation Association is stressing the importance of letting your friends and family know what you want. In many cases next of kin do try to honour the wishes of the deceased.

Representatives from the New England Donor Bank, BHB’s partner for organ donations, will be on island during the week giving lectures and training to health workers. They will also be on hand to meet the public at health screenings and a panel discussion. On Tuesday afternoon they will raise the Donate Life flag, a symbol of the organization, at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The public are invited to attend any or all of the three public awareness events that will take place during the week. Free health screenings will be offered on Monday 25 April from 10am- 1pm at the Washington Mall lower level next to the food court and on Tuesday 26 April from 10- noon at the Transport Control Department on Parson’s Road.

There will also be a free panel discussion on the theme “Have the Conversation”. Representatives from the New England Donor Bank and the Bermuda Organ Donor Association will share the basic information on what organ donation entails and what you need to do if you want to donate. The informative session will take place on Tuesday 26 April from 6pm -8pm at the Mariner’s Club in Hamilton.

In the US the number of people in need of transplants outpaces the number of donor organs. According to New England Donor Bank in the US about 22 people die each day because the organs they need are not donated in time. Talking to your family about your decision to become a donor is the most effective way to ensure you can save lives through donation and serves as sign of hope to those like who continue to wait.

To register as a donor or for more information about how to get involved, please visit www.DonateLifeNewEngland.org.

Dr Michael Vallis to help Bermuda adopt healthy behaviours

The Bermuda Hospitals Board DREAM Centre has partnered with BF&M as well as Bermuda Diabetes Association, Open Airways, Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre and Bermuda Heart Foundation, to bring registered psychologist Dr Michael Vallis to Bermuda to teach a two-day workshop for healthcare workers.

Dr Vallis, founder of the Behavioural Change Institute in Halifax, Canada teaches people how to engage with those with chronic illnesses in such a way that that elicits them to decide to adopt health habits and drop unhealthy ones. They key is that the patient comes to this decision on their own – and largely just by the way the conversation is structured.

Healthcare workers are not the only ones who can help those with chronic illnesses using Dr Vallis’ techniques. In the free public talk Changing for Good, Dr Vallis will share techniques and insights with the general public. The talk will take place on Tuesday 15 March from 6:30pm-8pm at the Hamilton Princess Harbourview Ballroom. Members of the public are advised to come early and browse the mini health fair which will take place from 5:30pm – 6:30pm. Get your blood sugar and blood pressure readings and learn your asthma and cancer risks.

BHB Announces Senior Physician Appointments

Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces a number of senior physician appointments.

Dr Michael Ashton has been appointed to the position of Chief of Medicine, reporting to the Chief of Staff.

The Chief of Medicine is a key position for hospital care, with overall responsibility for all medical disciplines. In this role Dr Ashton will work closely with the Directors of each medical specialty, including Cardiology, Endocrinology, Neurology, Nephrology, Oncology and the Hospitalist programme. As a member of the Medical Staff Committee he will work with the Chiefs of Surgery, Pediatrics, Radiology, Anaesthesia, Laboratory Services, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Geriatrics/Rehabilitation/Palliative Medicine, Family Medicine and Dentistry to set medical policy and advise the Chief of Staff and BHB Board of Directors. Dr. Ashton will also continue as an infectious diseases specialist and Hospital Epidemiologist.

BHB’s previous Chief of Medicine, Dr Keith Chiappa, is stepping down from the position and will continue at BHB as a Neurologist.

Dr Ashton joined BHB in November 2011 as an Infectious Diseases specialist and Hospital Epidemiologist. He is Board Certified in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases. Bermudian born, Dr. Ashton completed a Bachelor’s of Science in Pre Med and Psychology at McGill University in Quebec, Canada and attended Medical School at the University of Vermont. After completing his training in Internal Medicine and Primary Care as an Intern and Resident at Yale New Haven Hospital in CT, USA, Dr Ashton completed a Fellowship in Infectious Diseases and Hospital Epidemiology at Yale.

Chief of Staff, Dr Michael Weitekamp, comments: “I am very pleased to appoint Dr Ashton as Chief of Medicine. This is a senior physician position with multiple reports, requiring medical expertise and management skills. Dr Ashton’s extensive experience as a physician and over four years’ experience at BHB should position him well to work with his Directors in developing medical services at BHB. I would like to thank Dr Chiappa who has been our Chief of Medicine and Neurologist for eight years, during which time he has helped establish a strengthened, 24 hour hospitalist service, and a stronger cancer service with two on-island oncologists. We are very glad Dr Chiappa is remaining at BHB. His experience and expertise will continue to be a benefit to both patients and physicians as the hospital works towards its vision of ‘Exceptional Care. Strong Partnerships. Healthy Community’.”

Dr Weitekamp concludes: “We also have a number of other new appointees to other Chief positions. These Chiefs essentially oversee groups of specialist doctors who are mostly private practitioners. I would like to thank all of those who are stepping down and all those who have agreed to take on the roles. These positions include significant management activities, in addition to their private practice work, but are critical in developing strong relations between the hospital and the physicians and advancing the services in line with best international practices.”

Chief of Family Practice & General Medicine
• Dr. Nicola Terceira is taking over from Dr Fiona Ross

Chief of Pediatrics
• Dr. Sylvanus Nawab has taken on the role following the retirement of Dr Eugene Outerbridge

Chief of Obstetrics and Gynaecology
• Dr. Terrylyne Emery will take on the role, which was previously covered by rotating obstetricians/gynaecologists

Director of Nephrology
• Dr. Wendy Outerbridge is taking over from Dr Lynette Thomas

Agape House 25th anniversary

Statement from BHB CEO Venetta Symonds

Saturday 27 February 2016 is a milestone for Bermuda and Bermuda Hospitals Board. It’s the 25th anniversary of Agape House – the first and only palliative care hospice facility on the island. Since opening in 1991, Agape House staff have cared for more than 2,000 patients.
Although there was wide public debate on the need for a hospice before we opened in 1991, the facility saw 60 admissions that year. The following year admissions more than doubled, indicating that there was a clear need in our community for hospice care. That need has not diminished. Since 2011 the Agape House team has cared for more than one hundred patients each year. In 2014, admissions reached a record high of 135.

Agape House staff specialise in caring for people at the end of their lives and are extremely compassionate. They focus on life and living, providing the necessary support to family and friends and assisting patients in living life to the fullest for the duration of their stay.

We repeatedly hear from families that they were surprised at the lack of gloom at the facility. That’s something we want to stress in the community. We want to encourage people to seek our help if caring for a loved one near the end of their life is proving difficult. Families can visit with their loved one as often and for as long as they need to at Agape House. Families tell us all the time that they feel as if they have come “home” when they come to visit their loved one.

Many members of the public may not realise that Agape House also provides pain and symptom management services. These patients might not be in the terminal stages and may be receiving treatment to fight a serious illness.

As we celebrate the anniversary of Agape House, we must acknowledge Friends of Hospice, the charity that has supported this service since 1994. Friends of Hospice has provided over $5 million dollars in financial aid. This includes funding for inpatient services and full food service, as well as ancillary programmes which support patients after they’ve been discharged.

Friends of Hospice is organising several events over the next few months to highlight Agape House and the services we offer there. I’ll now hand over to Friends of Hospice Executive Director Cathy Belvedere, who will elaborate.

Statement by Friends of Hospice Executive Director Cathy Belvedere

Our events kick off on the actual anniversary day – Saturday 27 February – with the fundraiser Hearts, Hats and High Tea at Windows on the Sound at the Fairmont Southampton. The event is from 2pm to 5pm. Tickets are $75. To purchase tickets call 232-0859 or email friendsofhospice@bhb.bm.

The public is invited to celebrate the anniversary by producing poetry or artwork on the theme Being Alive. Deadline for entries is Monday 23 May 2016. Entries will be judged and the winning pieces will be announced in June, when renovations of Agape House cottage are complete. The winning pieces will be displayed in the renovated building.

Details of this contest are available on the KEMH Facebook page and on the BHB website at www.bdahospitaldev.wpengine.com. Details are also available at Masterworks, Bermuda Society of Arts, Dockyard Arts Centre and Friends of Hospice.

Friends of Hospice also want to encourage the community at large to talk more openly about death and dying. In Bermuda we find that many people don’t want to talk about death. This is experienced in many countries, so we are not alone. People can be uncomfortable discussing anything to do with death and dying, but it is important as then individuals can say whether they desire to be or not to be on life support, as well as the more detailed items like funeral arrangements.
In an effort to bring more openness to this topic, we will host an island-wide book club featuring the book Being Mortal by author Atul Gawande.

This book gives a fascinating insight into the importance of community communication around the difficult topic of dying. Readers are quickly drawn into the dilemmas the author faced. At the end of the story, they resolve to start having these difficult conversations with their own families.

Details of the book club will be announced in the coming weeks and you can check for updates on the Friends of Hospice Facebook page.

Thank you all for coming and we look forward to your support.

BHB Endocrinologist Presents to the Royal Society of Medicine

Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces that Bermudian endocrinologist, Dr Annabel Fountain, presented at the Royal Society of Medicine in London last week. Dr Fountain attended to present a rare and interesting case at the Society for Endocrinology National Clinical Cases 2016 Meeting with Dr Alexandra Haagensen, a Paediatric Endocrinologist from Boston Children’s Hospital. Both doctors worked on the case which originated in Bermuda.

Dr Fountain comments: “I was very pleased to have the opportunity to present this case and represent Bermuda Hospitals Board at this prestigious meeting. Bermuda has a significant amount of endocrine disease, and many of the more complicated diagnoses require additional management overseas (such as surgical removal of hormone-producing tumours). Most of my referrals overseas go to Boston and my colleagues there have commented that we have far more rare pathology than they’d expect from our small population. The detective work in diagnosing the problem and then the collaboration with colleagues for a good outcome for my patients is part of my job that I enjoy immensely. Maintaining my relationships with colleagues overseas and the dialogue for discussion of complex cases is important for supporting the care and expertise that my patients receive when they see me here in Bermuda.”

Dr Fountain added: “I enjoy the diagnostic challenge of listening to people’s symptoms and the story that they tell to get to the bottom of the problems they’re experiencing About half of the people that I see have diabetes, and the remainder have Endocrine disorders. This event further strengthens my relationships with specialists from different countries, especially in London where I trained. As the only Endocrinologist in Bermuda, my mentors and colleagues in London continue to be an excellent and valuable resource.”

Notes to Editors:
What is endocrinology?
Endocrinology is the study of hormones and the glands that make them. Hormones deliver messages via the blood stream between the glands and other organs and systems of the body. Endocrinology includes the study of these interactions as well as the effects.

What is an endocrinologist?
An Endocrinologist is a physician with specialist training to diagnose and treat diseases caused by dysfunction of the endocrine glands. The dysfunction may include over or under-production of hormones, leading to hormonal imbalance, and tumours (usually not cancer) of the glands. While primary care doctors know a lot about the human body, for diseases and conditions directly related to the endocrine system they will often send a patient to an endocrinologist.

What does the endocrinologist do?
Some of the more common conditions treated by our endocrinologist at the DREAM Centre include:

• Diabetes
• Obesity
• Cholesterol disorders
• Hypertension
• Thyroid disease and cancer
• Tumours of other endocrine glands
• Low testosterone/ Erectile dysfunction
• Growth disorders
• Osteoporosis
• Menopause
• Infertility

The goal of treatment is to restore balance. Management may include prescription medications including hormone replacements and lifestyle changes.

Update on Genito-Urinary Cancer Care

Bermuda Hospitals Board today announces that the care of genito-urinary cancer patients will now come under its oncologists, Dr Sein Aung, Director of Oncology at BHB, and Dr Christopher Fosker.

Since 2009, Dr Mary-Ellen Taplin from the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute has visited Bermuda for a genito-urinary cancer clinic. Due to her recent appointment as Chair of the Executive Committee on Clinical Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Dr Taplin will no longer be visiting the island.

When Dr Taplin first started visiting Bermuda, there was only one full time on-island oncologist. Bermuda’s cancer service has improved since then, with two, full time Bermuda-based oncologists, Dr Aung and Dr Fosker.

Dr Taplin comments: “It has been my pleasure to visit and care for patients in Bermuda over the last six years. Leaving my practice in Bermuda was a difficult decision. I have every confidence in the skill and experience of Dr Aung and Dr Fosker and the Oncology team in caring for all oncology patients.”

Dr Aung comments: “On behalf of the BHB Oncology team and patients, I’d like to thank Dr Taplin for all she has done for our patients. It has been our pleasure to work with her and we are fully prepared to care for all patients who would have accessed the clinic. I would note that while the Bermuda team can care for most cancer patients, should a complex case require a genito-urinary specialist we still have the ability to refer overseas, or liaise with Dr Taplin for her opinion.”