Health City at Camana Bay, Cayman’s first “multi-super specialty” health facility, was formally “inaugurated” on Thursday.
It was an emotional moment for Dr. Devi Shetty, chairman of Narayana Health, Health City’s parent company in India, as he said the facility was the culmination of a “crazy” dream he had when he first launched Health City in East End ten years ago.
“It’s a great day for me primarily because we dreamt of expanding our services, emergency care, trauma care and advanced cancer treatment, and everything now is happening as a reality,” Shetty told the Cayman Compass at the inauguration ceremony on Thursday.
The Level I trauma centre cost more than US$100 million to build. A Level I trauma centre is a comprehensive resource and tertiary care facility capable of providing total care for every aspect of injury, from prevention through rehabilitation, according to the American Trauma Society.
The 70,000-square-foot hospital includes a state-of-the-art Intensive Care Unit and a Post-Anesthesia Care Unit with 12 fully equipped beds for critical and post-operative care.
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The George Town facility’s inpatient services feature private rooms and a VIP suite.
The Health City at Camana Bay hospital is expected to be fully operational within the next few weeks, a statement from Health City said Thursday afternoon.
Greater access
The new facility, which will also offer specialised care for premature babies, is part of more than $300 million in investments made by Narayana Health in the Cayman Islands.
Premier Juliana O’Connor-Connolly said the opening of the Heath City at Camana Bay facility marks “a transformative leap forward” in the country’s healthcare landscape.
“This state-of-the-art facility embodies excellence in the healthcare sector and supports our country’s commitment to providing a well-rounded, wide range of medical services right here in the Cayman Islands, ensuring that residents, visitors and medical tourists have access to the best care possible,” O’Connor-Connolly said.
She told the Compass that what she envisions for the facility is people not having to go overseas, but being here “where you can be encircled and embrace with the warmth of your own family members as well have access to all the ancillary facilities.”
She said having such a facility means a lot because “depression is real” and being away from family during a medical scare is difficult.
“Once you are into an institution, and you just got terrible news about your medical [situation], you want that encouragement, you want that spiritual enhancement,” she said.
Shetty said as a heart surgeon, he always dreamt of building a heart hospital, but realised that a standalone hospital will not be sufficient, so Narayana Health started building “multi-super specialty hospitals” like Health City at Camana Bay.
New level of healthcare
Now, he said, the Cayman Islands has the most cutting edge, advanced healthcare facility for a great variety of conditions and diseases.
“It’s a dream come true and I’m extremely grateful to the people of Cayman Islands for giving me this opportunity,” Shetty said.
Jackie Doak, director of Dart Enterprises Ltd, welcomed the new facility, saying one of the key features the centre brings is access to care that was only available overseas.
“Minutes matter and now whether you are in the eastern districts or in George Town or on the Seven Mile Beach corridor, you have a high-quality healthcare trauma centre you can get to in minutes and save lives, and access to preventative health care,” Doak said.
The project, which was formalised under the Sir Alden McLaughlin Progressives-led administration in 2021, also included the Health City Cayman Islands’ new Gene Thompson Radiotherapy Centre in Camana Bay, which opened last year.
That facility has been equipped with a Siemens TrueBeam Varian Linear Accelerator, the first of its kind in the Cayman Islands and the region.
CAR T-cell therapy and bone marrow transplants will also be available at the Camana Bay facility.
Health and Wellness Minister Sabrina Turner said the opening of the facility marks a “milestone” for healthcare in the region.
She commended the Health City team for their trust in the Cayman Islands and administrations past and future.
Health City at Camana Bay will also provide dedicated kidney dialysis care with two specialised beds and cutting-edge diagnostic imaging services, including a 3T MRI, PET CT, and a mammogram machine, ensuring accurate diagnosis and treatment planning.
Shetty said the “best is yet to come”, as he believes the Cayman Islands will emerge at the centre of excellence for tertiary care, not only for the Caribbean, but for the entire Western Hemisphere.
“That is going to happen in the near future because cost of health care across the world will keep escalating and people won’t be able to afford advanced health care. So they will all head towards the Cayman Islands because of the quality of health care they can get at an affordable price,” he said.
Editor’s Note: The Cayman Compass is a subsidiary of Dart Media and Entertainment.
