NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Doctors Hospital executives yesterday lauded the collaboration with Health City Cayman Islands as a "transformative" arrangement aimed at reducing costs and streamlining off-island care for Bahamians, thereby establishing a lower price point for complex medical services that have been traditionally undertaken in South Florida.
Dennis Deveaux, the BISX-listed healthcare provider's chief financial officer, told Eyewitness News that the collaboration would solidify Health City as a preferred referral option for Doctors Hospital Bahamas and Bahamian patients, creating structured access to world-class outcomes at a significantly reduced cost for complex medical episodes.
Both entities are Joint Commission International (JCI) accredited hospitals, marking the partnership as the first of its kind between two fully accredited private medical facilities in the Caribbean.
Deveaux explained: "Our core mission is to provide patients with access to world-class care and great outcomes. We find that there is a point when the national capacity for care is eclipsed, usually with highly specialized or complex cases where the equipment or surgical talent is not available locally. Often, care is delayed or denied because it requires direct referral to US-based hospitals, primarily in southern Florida or beyond. The partnership with Health City, in this first step, seeks to present another option, given that Health City, like Doctors Hospital, is Joint Commission International accredited."
He added: "We believe this option will provide a lower price point compared to what is traditionally available in southern Florida. It is widely believed that the spending in southern Florida amounts to hundreds of millions of dollars, much of which is due to the escalation of costs. This initiative aims to bring down the cost of off-island care while maintaining the quality that Doctors Hospital and Health City are known for. We have had months of dialogue with Health City to formalize this first step, and we believe it will be transformative in how Bahamians access off-island care, eliminating many cost barriers and visa requirements, including simple tasks like transferring medical records and diagnostic imaging."
In a statement regarding the partnership, Health City's Clinical Director Dr Binoy Chattuparambil emphasized: "We have had the privilege to help many children from the Bahamas with surgical interventions and are even more excited to deepen our relationships with our colleague clinicians at Doctors Hospital. This partnership will increase our ability to work with Doctors Hospital to serve more Bahamians of all ages, providing them with additional modalities of world-class healthcare."
Health City's Chief Business Officer Shomari Scott, highlighting the significance of the partnership as Health City approaches its ten-year anniversary, noted: "Together, we can show that Caribbean entities can cooperate and find solutions for our region, holding hands for the betterment of our Caribbean brothers and sisters. We are pleased to work with Doctors Hospital Bahamas, who share Health City's vision of advancing healthcare in the Caribbean by positively impacting people's health journeys. Through partnerships like this, we can continue to bolster the Caribbean as a global hub for healthcare excellence."
Dr Charles Diggiss, President,and CEO of Doctors Hospital Bahamas, expressed how the partnership aligns with the Health System's vision of providing the best options for the people of the Bahamas.
"Not only are we achieving immediate access to specialist services not traditionally available in The Bahamas; we will present an option for superior outcomes which Bahamians seek. Doctors Hospital and Health City share similar values, which are based on a shared commitment to high-quality patient care outcomes. We look forward to expanding our relationship further," Diggiss noted.
Click here to read more on the Eye Witness News website
