Bermuda Hospitals Board Announces Major Renovation Plans Focus is on Patient Care as BHB Moves Towards Unprecedented Progress for Healthcare in Bermuda

The Bermuda Hospitals Board (BHB) today announced that it has selected Cannon Design, in association with OBM International, to develop a estate master plan for its facilities. BHB employees, physicians, Board members and various stakeholders in the community will be involved in creating the long-range plan. The final estate master plan will be presented to the BHB, key stakeholders and the public in May 2005. The BHB will then use this plan to implement short and long-term facilities and infrastructure planning guidelines, year by year, until 2015.

The objectives of the estate master planning exercise are:

– To provide modern clinical services to the Bermuda community
– To retain and employ quality staff who are empowered to improve the environment for patients
– To modernize the BHB’s physical environment
– To modernize equipment
– To optimize functional and physical relationships between departments and clinical services

“This is a very exciting initiative for the Bermuda Hospitals Board and for the entire community. The estate master plan will provide a clear and concise vision for a service designed with patient needs and convenience in mind first and foremost,” said Joan Dillas-Wright, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Hospitals Board. “We are looking forward to keeping the community apprised of our progress in this area.”

The first step of the estate master planning process will be a comprehensive strategic review of the BHB estate (King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and St. Brendan’s Hospital). This will include appraisal of the services currently provided at the BHB; interviews and data collection from various stakeholders in Bermuda; evaluation of the BHB’s requirements, health strategies and objectives; assessment of future demands for healthcare services; competitor/market analysis and surveys on physical condition, equipment and space utilization.

“This first phase of the estate master plan is very important as it will provide the framework for our fundraising efforts,” said Philip Butterfield, chairman of the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust (BHCT), which is run independently of the Bermuda Hospitals Board and the Ministry of Health. “The BHCT is committed to employing a strategic, disciplined approach to its fundraising efforts and this plan will enable us to define our goals and determine the most effective and efficient way of meeting them.”

About Cannon Design and OBM International
Cannon Design and OBM International were selected after a thorough review process of several firms that responded to the BHB’s request for proposal in March 2004. Founded more than fifty years ago, Cannon Design is an international architectural, engineering and interior design firm with an expertise in healthcare design. The firm is consistently ranked among the top ten firms in North America for planning and designing healthcare facilities. OBM International is a full-service design consulting firm in Bermuda and the Caribbean region.

“Our vision at the Bermuda Hospitals Board is to be a centre of excellence. This estate master plan is a very important step towards creating a healthcare environment that will meet and exceed the level of service demanded by Bermuda residents,” said Jonathan Brewin, chairman of the Bermuda Hospitals Board. “We will be working very closely with the design firms to ensure that the master plan reflects our vision.”

The Bermuda Hospitals Board will update the community on progress made with the estate master plan on a timely basis.

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