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13th
April 2010
NEW DIALYSIS
CENTRE
Stan Bishop
A
soon-to-be-constructed US$1.25 million uro-nephrology
centre in the north of the island is being hailed
as a huge plus to the nation’s health
sector.
Construction works on the Uro-Nephrology Centre
of Excellence, will commence in the next few
weeks and the building will be located to the
rear of the Gros Islet Polyclinic at Massade.
The new initiative is being undertaken by the
American International Medical University (AIM-U)
located at Beausejour, in collaboration with
the Ministry of Health. However, AIM-U and its
associate, Washington Adventist University,
will provide total funding towards the project.
According to Dr. C. Matthew Praderelli, director
of AIM-U’s Nursing Programme, the new
centre will serve to alleviate a fair share
of the most prevalent health problems faced
by many individuals.
“We’re very interested in seeing
that the people in the northern part of St.
Lucia – which houses 40% of the known
dialysis patients – receive the proper
treatment,” Praderelli told The VOICE
last Wednesday.
Praderelli’s comments came minutes after
the official sod turning ceremony held on the
grounds of the Gros Islet Polyclinic where dignitaries
were apprised about the project. When completed,
he added, the centre will provide primary care
services, as well as emergency care situations
and minor diabetes issues. It will be equipped
with four dialysis units and a staff of three
interns and opening hours will be from 4:30
p.m. to 12:30 a.m.
Officials indicated that the new service will
be especially convenient for Gros Islet residents
who often have to endure snailpace traffic to
be treated at Victoria Hospital. At its optimum
level, the clinic is expected to treat between
6’500 and 8,500 patients annually.
Speaking at the ceremony on Wednesday morning,
AIM-U’s executive dean, Dr. Raju S. Babu,
said the new centre will come with all the necessary
advanced medical technologies, as well as staffing.
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“We have an excellent
array of partner organizations and personnel
that will ensure that this project is a tremendous
success. It is going to be a model project,
especially so through the partnership between
AIM-U and the government of St. Lucia,”
Dr. Raj said.
Health and Wellness minister, Dr. Keith Mondesir,
spoke of the relevance of the new center,
citing the overwhelming evidence that pits
St. Lucia as the diabetes capital of the world.
“In St. Lucia, we are faced with a high
percentage of diabetes among our population,”
the health minister said. “As a result,
we end up with kidney failure. We were not
able to supply the demand in terms of dialysis
at Victoria Hospital. So this government and
the ministry of health set out on a nephrology
programme to establish a centre of excellence
in treating kidney failure in the north, in
the south and within Victoria Hospital.”
He added that when approached by AIM-U with
the idea of the centre, there was no denying
that the initiative was one that should be
implemented. The added features of the centre,
he said, address more health issues than one.
As such, improvements at the existing Gros
Islet Polyclinic will be undertaken to bring
that institution more in line with providing
a wider array of services, Dr. Mondesir noted.
Gros Islet MP, Lenard “Spider”
Montoute choked on words and held back tears
as he delivered the feature address. A friend
of his passed away a few years ago while waiting
to be added to the list of patients to receive
dialysis. He said the new centre falls in
line with several pledges he had made to his
constituents. It will also reduce the strain
on Victoria Hospital’s eleven dialysis
machines that cater to some sixty-four patients.
“Given these circumstances, I was impelled
to pursue all avenues possible to ensure that
even in the face of this deep recession that
we’re facing, with all our economic
hardships and limited resources, I relentlessly
pursued that noble idea of having such a service
provided here at our polyclinic,” Montoute
said.
Discuss
Story
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