Bermuda Hospitals Board donates medical supplies to Jamaica

Tuesday 4 November 2025: This week, Bermuda Hospitals Board was pleased to donate medical supplies to help equip Black River Hospital in St Elisabeth, Jamaica, which was devastated by Hurricane Melissa. BHB sent some of the items the hospital needed most, including sterile single-use needles, gloves, masks, surgical gowns and coveralls.

At least 200 BHB staff have direct links to Jamaica so this hurricane, while further afield, impacted our hospital family. After losing the Continuing Care Unit during Hurricane Gonzalo in 2014, BHB can sympathize with the Black River Hospital staff who are working hard to deliver care to their community despite the hardships they are facing.

BHB CEO & President Scott Pearman, Chief of Nursing & Allied Health Judy Richardson, Chief of Staff Dr Anna Neilson-Williams and Chief Operating Officer Preston Swan are pictured with the nine pallets of supplies, alongside Jamaican BHB staff members Dr Shari Plummer and Clinical Manager Christine Bogle-Mienzer, and Jamaican Association members Shurnette Caines and Joan Richardson.

MWI clients art, photography and poetry exhibition opens on Friday

(Thursday 18 September 2025): The annual MindFrame PhotoVoice Exhibition, in which clients of the Mid-Atlantic Wellness Institute (MWI) showcase their art, photography and poetry opens this Friday 19 September from 5-7pm at the Bermuda Society of Arts at City Hall.

The theme MWI clients responded to this year is ‘Comm_nity, where are u?’

Art Therapist, Rhiannon Fletcher, comments, “we are excited to be exhibiting art, photography and poetry from people who are clients of the MWI services, including mental health, addiction and intellectual disability services.

“This exhibition means so much to us and our clients,” she adds. “It brings the community together to appreciate and gain insight into the creativity and expressiveness of people who are journeys of recovery from mental illness or addiction, and those living with intellectual disabilities.”

Rehab Aide Zharia Bean says, “It’s really special to come to the exhibition’s opening night, when clients and their families have the opportunity to see responses to their work, and to feel included and celebrated in a public space. This is a powerful exhibition and if someone can’t make the opening, we encourage them to pop by before it closes on Monday 13 October.

“The comments and narratives that are supplied with the art and photos give an amazing appreciation of the creative power of the human mind,” Zharia adds. “I’d also note that the artists and photographers get a portion of any of their works that are sold, as does the art and photography programme at MWI, which goes back into supplies and putting on future exhibits.”

Temporary KEMH Road Closure on Wednesday 10 September

(Monday 8 September 2025): Bermuda Hospitals Board today advises that the road through the KEMH campus that connects Berry Hill and Point Finger Roads will not be accessible as a through road on Wednesday 10 September, from about 7:30am through to at least 4pm.

The road will be blocked near the Orthopaedic (Fracture) Clinic entrance (the old Emergency Department). People will be able to walk from the Berry Hill Visitors Car Park and access the entrance, but will not be able to drive through the KEMH campus.  People coming from Point Finger Road will be able to access up to the General Wing lobby and Agape House.

The closure is caused by the delivery of new nuclear medicine equipment, part of the Diagnostic Imaging upgrade announced in February.

BHB opens UCC for the public holidays and encourages a safe holiday for all

Tuesday 29 July 2025: Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today advises that the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre will open over the public holidays.

The hours of operation will be from noon to 8pm on Emancipation Day (Thursday 31 July) and Mary Prince Day (Friday 1 August). This will be in addition to its regular weekend hours of 9am to 9pm (Saturday and Sunday).

Chief of Emergency and Hyperbaric Services, Dr Chikezie Okereke, comments: “We urge everyone to prioritise their health and safety over the entire Cup Match holiday weekend. It’s a great holiday to be with friends and family, but please plan in advance to ensure you have your medications and supplies. Don’t drink alcohol and drive, and be prepared for hot and sunny weather if you are out on a boat, at the beach or at the game – drink plenty of water, wear sunscreen, a hat and shirt.

“Our UCC service will be there for minor illnesses and accidents, and our Emergency Department as usual will be there for more serious conditions,” he adds, “but look out for yourself, your friends and family.  You don’t want a medical emergency interrupting your Cup Match holiday weekend activities and fun.”

While the significant pressure experienced at the beginning of the month at KEMH has eased, CEO & President, Scott Pearman reminds people to take those ready for discharge home before and during the holiday period.

“Along with being responsible for your own health, please don’t forget family members who may be ready for discharge around the holiday period, and don’t bring someone in just for a safe place to stay,” he says.

“The hospital is not somewhere your loved ones should be for the holiday weekend unless they need to be here. This will cause problems for people with real emergency and acute care needs. Be safe yourself and do the right thing for your loved ones.”

BHB summer students see live surgeries through partnership with Liberty Science Center

Wednesday 23 July 2025: BHB partnered with Liberty Science Center for the first time this year to give a select group of its summer students the opportunity to watch live surgeries as part of their work experience at BHB.

Erin Basden, Coordinator HR Programmes

Coordinator-HR Programmes Erin Basden explains: “We secured 10 spots for a number of surgeries. It was great to be able to offer such ah meaningful experience as part of our summer student programme and we will be looking to continue this partnership in the future. It was very informative, eye-opening and offered our students another avenue to benefit their career journey.”

The live video events were held throughout June. The BHB summer students were able to peer into an operating room to see a kidney transplant, robotic surgery and neurosurgery, and were able to communicate with the doctors. There was also a Meet the Surgeon session with a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon who joined live and presented students with recorded footage from one of her procedures and discussed her career path.

One of the 10 BHB summer students who participated was Bermudian Sanaa Simmons, a first-year medical student who is studying at the University of Liverpool, who worked in the Quality & Risk Management Department at BHB over the summer.

Sanaa Simmons, BHB Summer Student

“The opportunity to witness live surgeries provided by the Liberty Science Centre was insightful and inspiring,” she says.

“I particularly enjoyed observing the paediatric ACL reconstruction, and Dr Samara Friedman was eager to answer our questions and share her story. From growing up as an athlete, to employing her dexterous skills throughout her younger life, she explained how paediatric orthopaedic surgery was best fit for her.

“Moreover, the kidney transplant surgery was well delivered; the procedure was narrated in an accessible way.

“We became further educated on triage processes, organ rejection, and long-term lifestyle changes to patients – ultimately reinforcing how imperative it is to showcase empathy in the medical field.”

Emergency Department performance better than international benchmarks for time in emergency

Friday 20 June 2025: As part of national Emergency Day on 27 May, BHB collated its Emergency Department (ED) data to highlight the achievements of the ED team.

The BHB Emergency Department (ED) team includes doctors, nurses, nurse’s aides, emergency medical technicians, social workers and environmental services and security personnel, as well as all the BHB supporting departments. It is also important to acknowledge others such as our pre-hospital first responders (Bermuda fire and rescue service team and St John’s voluntary emergency medical technicians) and community surgeons in Bermuda who all respond to emergencies or support emergency care in one form or another.

CEO & President Scott Pearman notes. “As a front-line service, Bermuda Hospitals Board would like to recognise all the dedicated professionals who provide emergency care around the clock. This year has been extremely challenging for the ED. The high number of medically-fit-for-discharge patients in KEMH has caused long wait times for patients waiting for admission to an inpatient unit, and those people waiting in the ED for a bed then fill up the Emergency Department itself. Amazingly, despite this, outside of patients waiting for an inpatient bed, the majority of people are seen and discharged from our ED faster than international benchmarks.

“I would like to thank our ED staff who have continued to care throughout this very challenging year to date and ensure every person in Bermuda got the care they needed.”

Chief of Staff, Anna Neilson-Williams says, “KEMH’s Emergency Department carries a unique responsibility as Bermuda’s only hospital ED, handling every emergency on the island. Despite this challenge, the team consistently delivers care that meets rigorous standards.

“Notably, KEMH is a designated Primary Stroke Centre through a partnership with Johns Hopkins Medicine International. This affiliation has brought global best practices for stroke diagnosis and treatment to Bermuda, ensuring patients receive expert care close to home. Work is also underway with Johns Hopkins to improve our emergency medical response to trauma and burns and improve outcomes for our most seriously injured patients.”

Chief of Emergency, Dr Chikezie Dean Okereke, explains that his department’s ability to meet international benchmarks has continued even through this year’s challenges.

“For the twelve months, April 2024 to March 2025, the ED recorded approximately 29,105 visits, involving about 18,123 individuals, 96% of whom were Bermuda residents. Among them, 1,188 patients presented with life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks, major trauma or severe respiratory distress that required immediate, high-priority care.

“About 15,000 other attendances involved urgent but not immediately dangerous conditions — these still required significant resources such as tests, imaging and consultations to diagnose and manage.

“Despite the high volume, the emergency department team consistently delivered timely care. The median time from arrival to triage (initial nurse assessment) was just 14 minutes, and patients who did not require admission typically spent around three hours and eight minutes from registration to treatment and discharge. About 12% of patients were admitted to hospital for further care, while the remainder were safely treated and discharged. It should be noted that internationally, most public emergency departments aim to keep the median time between registration and discharge to within four hours.”

Dr Okereke warns, however, that people shouldn’t use this as a reason to come to hospital instead of seeing their primary care physicians (GPs).

“Just under half our patient are in the lowest two levels of acuity – meaning they have conditions or injuries that do not require Emergency care. They should see their doctor, or if it is the weekend go to the Lamb Foggo and other community urgent care centres.

“For a start, when we are busy, they are taking up our time which should be focused on those who truly need emergency care. Secondly, while our average wait times are and remain generally very good, people who come in with conditions that don’t truly need emergency care will likely wait a lot longer than those who come in with life-threatening injuries and illnesses. So, if you are not that unwell, you will wait longer than the average wait times.”

Keeping patients informed has been a key focus this year. Patients in the waiting room can now see a large display includes the wait times. It also advises how many low, medium and critical care patients there are, and how many are waiting in the department for bed. A KEMH Performance Data Snapshot report is also published every month on the BHB website’s statistics page, with a day-by-day summary of wait times, admissions, outpatient appointments and surgeries.

“We hope the community is proud of its Emergency Department,” says Dr Okereke. “This team is dedicated to your care every day and we are happy we can share our data to highlight the quality of our service.”