A memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed yesterday with the University of Miami is expected to provide Bahamians with accessible and high quality healthcare and pave the way for the future of stem cell research in The Bahamas.
The signing, which took place at the Office of the Prime Minister, solidified an agreement between the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Inter-disciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) with the Ministry of Health and the Public Hospitals Authority.
Prime Minister Perry Christie described the signing as a great moment for his administration. "The regulatory framework for the conduct of stem cell research was established thus giving The Bahamas the distinction of becoming the first country in the english-speaking Caribbean region to put such a legislative framework in place," Christie said.
"This is indeed a sentinel moment for my government because the University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine, is one of the leading schools of medicine in the United States of America and this now makes this outstanding institution available to us as we continue this sacred journey to ensure patient safety and enhance the quality and delivery of healthcare to our citizens throughout The Bahamas, to drive innovation in healthcare and to create new opportunities for Bahamians in the fields of biotechnology, cell therapy and regenerative medicine."
With the roll-out of the primary care phase of National Health Insurance (NHI) scheduled to begin in two weeks, the prime minister hopes the MOU will aid in that effort.
With the MOU, the University of Miami will engage in educating and training physicians and healthcare practitioners and scientists in finding new treatments and therapies for heart disease, neurological disease, bone disease, diabetes, cancer, eye diseases and other chronic, debilitating or incurable diseases.
Additionally, it seeks to explore the possibility of providing services including establishing relationships between healthcare providers, nationally and internationally; developing telemedicine facilities to assist in diagnosis and treatment of patients; facilitating specialty training for physicians and medical practitioners in areas other than stem cell research and therapy upon request from the Ministry of Health and Public Hospitals Authority.
The MOU allows for collaboration with the University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research.
Through its Inter-disciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI), the University of Miami will also be able to explore the possibility of providing services and support such as the establishment of a stem cell laboratory free standing or in collaboration with an existing laboratory within The Bahamas. Pascal J. Goldschmidt, dean of the Miller School of Medicine, said the partnership between The Bahamas and the university came at an opportune time.
"I think that at a time when your healthcare organization is evolving with insurance, it becomes an opportunity to partner in facilitating the access to the most advanced technologies and the most advanced systems for your national healthcare system to flourish," Goldschmidt said. Along with the MOU signing yesterday was the consultancy services agreement between Dr. Joshua M. Hare, founding director of the ISCI at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, and the Ministry of Health.
"I think tremendous initial steps have been taken and there is a great future that will allow us to continue to monitor the programs that are existing and will be starting in The Bahamas and will allow us to participate in the scientific rigor of which the work will be dealt with," Hare said. Looking to the future, Christie said one day he hopes that the government and the university can discuss the possibility of opening a campus in The Bahamas. Goldschmidt and Hare shared the same optimism of that possibility.
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