TCI News
TCI Hospitals Update: Trauma cases involving fatal shooting, illegal migrant collapsed, attempted suicide
#Providenciales, Turks and Caicos – Tuesday April 10, 2018 – The TCI Hospitals in recent weeks has delivered urgent medical care to emergency cases involving some women in Providenciales; each case presenting significant emotional, physical and traumatic challenges for the Interhealth Canada run facility.
Magnetic Media inquiries on the Haitian woman found laying in the road shortly after a string of illegal boat landings to Provo; other questions on a popular mother of four who was shot and killed and from the weekend, a distraught young woman who announced to the world via Facebook that she was going to take her own life, were all met with answers by the Hospitals. 
Public Relations Manager, Nikira John said of the latest case, “A female in her 20’s was transported to the Emergency Department of the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre on the afternoon of 8th April 2018 by ambulance services and the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force with a history of an alleged suicide attempt. The patient underwent immediate care and intervention by the Emergency Department team. The care of the patient required a multidisciplinary approach involving the Consultant Psychiatrist attached to the Department of Mental Health within the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services.”
In an emotionally charged video broadcast, the woman weeping uncontrollably, revealing that she was unable to get any family member to hear of her problems and saying that her suicide was an attempt to make everyone who had ever hurt her sorry, that she wanted them to live with ‘causing’ her death, for the rest of their lives. “Especially you!” she said into the cell phone, “You know who you are…”
Prayer requests were sent out over social media and there was reportedly a frantic search for the woman. Eventually, she was found – alive, but having already done some damage to herself. 
The video hads gone viral, but appears to now be taken down from the social media page of Morris.
At this time, the young woman, identified on her Facebook page as Henricka Morris, is still receiving treatment.
“The patient remains under the care of the Consultant Psychiatrist and a multidisciplinary team from the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre who will continue to support the patient and her family. Due to patient confidentiality we are unable to provide any detailed information about her care.”
In another trauma case: Family, friends and loved ones continue to mourn the loss of ‘Deka’ Stubbs-Saintlemon who was fatally shot while leaving a night club on Leeward Highway on March 23, 2018.
Our news organization was bombarded with questions on the quality of care the mother of four received, after being struck, reportedly in a hail of gunfire said to be meant for someone else.
Ms. John said this at the time, “A female in her early 30’s presented to the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre during the early morning hours of March 23rd 2018. The patient was transported to the Emergency Department via private vehicle with a history of sustaining a gunshot wound to the body. Upon arrival, the patient was unresponsive and critically injured. The onsite Emergency Team was activated and resuscitation efforts commenced. In accordance with standard hospital protocol, an on-call operating room team was immediately activated and mobilized to support the emergency response team who is permanently onsite.” 
The account laid out by the TCI Hospitals PR executive continued with, “A decision was made for surgical intervention and the patient was transferred to the Operating Theatre where she unfortunately succumbed to her injuries. The matter was referred to the coroner as per hospital protocol. Our deepest sympathy is extended to the family for their loss. Due to patient confidentiality, we are unable to provide any specific details.”
Andreka Stubbs-Saintlemon was an employee at Business Solutions, upon entering the store – customers are greeted with a smiling, happy portrait of the beautiful wife and mother, which even today still hangs on the double door in memory of the beloved employee.
And in yet another major medical matter, Magnetic Media received an update on the Haitian woman, who is believed to arrived into the country on one of five illegal Haitian boats. The woman was said to have been living in the bushes for days, she was discovered in the road, collapsed and taken to the Cheshire Hall Medical Center. 
“A female patient in her early 40’s was transported to Cheshire Hall Medical Centre via ambulance on March 18th 2018. The patient was seriously ill and required resuscitation in the Emergency Department”
The state of the woman underscores the danger of taking the unauthorized voyages from Haiti. At the time of our request in late March, “..the patient remains under clinical care and is presently in stable condition. Based on the information provided in relation to her suspected entry to the country, she is currently being guarded.”
Almost two million visitors recorded in 2025
PROVIDENCIALES, TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS – The Turks and Caicos Islands saw an increase in stayover arrivals in December, seven percent higher than the corresponding period in 2024.
Preliminary data suggests that stay over arrivals by air for the month of December was 66,427 in comparison to 62,610 in December 2024.
From January to December 2025, preliminary visitor arrival numbers totalled 640,754; on par with the number recorded for the same period of 2024.
Stay Over Arrivals YTD December 2024/2025
The first quarter of the calendar year attracted the largest number of arrivals with visitor arrivals three percent higher than the first quarter of 2024. Reduced airlift from the United Kingdom and the United States, most notably the Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue services, was however felt from the second quarter (April to June). As a result, visitor arrivals dropped three percent in the second quarter.
By the third quarter of this year (July to September), geopolitical and economic conditions in the key source markets, namely the United States, led to further contraction of arrivals. In the last quarter of 2025, arrivals were impacted in October due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa but additional airlift from the USA and Canada resulted in an increase in arrivals in November and December.
Mr. Paul Pennicook, Interim CEO Consultant of Experience Turks and Caicos, said December’s increase in stayover arrivals is an encouraging indicator of the sustained interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands as a premier destination.
“While we note and continue to monitor geopolitical shifts that affect us, Experience Turks and Caicos is focused on increasing marketing initiatives in our primary source markets. We have spent the last two years investing in groundwork such as crucial travel advisor training to assist them in selling the destination more effectively. In the next fiscal, we will be building on those initiatives with co-op activities with partners as well as out of home advertising to increase visitation to our destination,” he said.
In Cruise, the preliminary count of passenger arrivals for the month of December 2025 was 129,346, a 22 percent increase over last December. This growth follows the berthing of 11 additional ships in Grand Turk this month.
From January to December, the cruise sector continued to outperform the same period last year, as the 1.3 million total cruise passengers recorded, marks a five percent Year-on-Year increase. 
The cruise sector experienced significant growth in the first quarter of 2025, with passenger arrivals surpassing last quarter by 53 percent. In the second and third quarter however, several cruise lines adjusted their itineraries as vessels were pulled from the fleet or from the Caribbean region, which resulted in fewer passengers.
Arrivals dropped seven percent and 10 percent in the second and third quarters, respectively. Double digit growth was recorded in the last two months of Quarter 4. This growth however, was not sufficient to outweigh the drop in arrivals experienced in October, following the cancellation of cruise calls due to the passage of Hurricane Melissa. Despite the late-quarter rebound, arrivals for the final quarter of 2025 closed six percent below the same period in 2024.
News
The Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands – Wednesday, 11 February 2026: The Informal Settlements Unit (ISU) coordinated a multi-agency enforcement operation on Thursday, 29 January 2026, led by the Planning Department, with support from the Crown Land
Unit, the Turks and Caicos Islands Border Force, and security provided by the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force. The operation, carried out at three different locations in Providenciales, formed part of ongoing government efforts to address unauthorised development and illegal occupation of land in accordance with governing legislation.
The operation commenced in Blue Hills, where five Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on unauthorised structures identified on Block and Parcel 60502/48.
Enforcement activity then moved to a second location off the Leeward Highway near Caicos Lodge, where six Section 58 Enforcement Notices were issued on additional unauthorised structures on Block and Parcel 60802/66.
The final phase of the operation took place in The Bight, where three unauthorised structures were removed, with all debris cleared from the site in keeping with established safety and environmental protocols.
The Informal Settlements Unit remains committed to working alongside its partner agencies to support lawful development, protect public and private land, and ensure that planning regulations are enforced in a coordinated and transparent manner across the Turks and Caicos Islands. Similar joint operations will continue as part of the Government’s wider strategy to address unauthorised development and informal settlement activity.
