TCI News
TCI Hospital announce winners of ‘The Diamond Challenge’
#Providenciales, June 8, 2018 – Turks and Caicos – Eight teams of health care professionals showcased their best quality initiatives in a unique competition held on Wednesday May 30th inside the main foyer at Cheshire Hall Medical Centre for a prize pool of US$3,000 sponsored by InterHealth Canada Corporate, the private health care management company.
‘The Diamond Challenge’ spanned five months of team preparation, and last week’s finale featured a poster and oral presentation by each team leader before a panel of external judges. Each initiative submitted must have been implemented between the years 2015 – 2018 and reflect measurable impact or evidence of improvement in the practice environment. The judges were Dr. Hamlet Nation – Acting Chief Executive Officer of the National Health Insurance Board, Mrs. Ruth Forbes – Senior Vice President of Fortis TCI and Dr. Marcella Malcolm of Carolina Private Clinic.
The Best Quality Improvement Initiative for building a Culture of Safety recorded a tie between the Baby Friendly Initiative and the Competency Mandatory Training Initiative. The first initiative was led by Dr. Dawn Perry – Head of Obstetrics and Gynecology and Mikette Been – Chief of Clinical Services. The latter Initiative was led by Jacqueline Moe-Cox and Lurline Barnett of the Hospital’s Education Department.
The top award for the categories of Best Quality Improvement Initiative towards Safe Medication Practices and Best Overall Quality Improvement Initiative, were captured by the Medication Reconciliation Project, which secured a double win. The project comprised of Dr. Sani Amatti – Head of Pediatrics, Dr. Ravindra Gajendragadkar – General Internist, Detorrie Tennant – Hospital Information Systems Manager and Tony Wilton – Pharmacy Manager.
The title of the overall competition was derived from the hospital’s quest to receive diamond status once again. Turks and Caicos Islands Hospital will 
undergo a third accreditation assessment next week June 11th – 15th 2018. A full-site survey is carried out every three years by independent overseas assessors. The acute-secondary health care facility has been accredited at the Diamond level since March 2012, which is the highest level achievable under the ACI Qmentum International Accreditation Program. Accreditation is an independent assessment of a health care organization’s performance against internationally recognized standards of best practice.
TCI Hospital Chief Executive Officer, Gaston Levac commented on the internal competition. Levac said: “The excellent work presented by Diamond Challenge team members is a reflection of the quality work delivered by all hospital personnel. It bodes well for the TCI Hospital receiving an unprecedented third straight Diamond Accreditation award. To obtain a Diamond Award from Accreditation Canada International demonstrates that the hospital is in compliance with the world’s most rigorous standards of care, service and performance.”
Release: InterHealth Canada
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.
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News4 days agoThe Department of Trade, Industry & Fair Competition to Host Export Readiness Workshop Under the theme “Empowering TCI Businesses for Local Growth and Global Markets.”
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TCI News6 days agoExperience Turks and Caicos and Aquila Host Product Development Workshops to Strengthen Sister Islands Tourism
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News3 days agoStrong December Performance Signals Continued Demand for the Turks and Caicos Islands
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News5 days agoMulti-Agency Planning Enforcement Operation Conducted at multiple locations in Providenciales
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Bahamas News1 day agoTens of Millions Announced – Where is the Development?