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Doctors Hospital takes over well-known clinic in Eight Mile Rock By Andrew Coakley

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#TheBahamas, November 24, 2021 – Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe says Doctor’s Hospital’s acquisition of the clinic in Eight Mile Rock, owned by Dr. Malik Kavala, represents a transition that will bring even better health care to the people of West Grand Bahama. He called it “a gift just before Christmas.”

The official renaming of the Kavala Medical Clinic, which has been a long-time staple in Eight Mile Rock, to Doctors Hospital, took place on Monday, November 22, 2021, in a short ceremony, where Minister Wilchcombe served as the keynote speaker.

“This is an important day in Grand Bahama, an important day, specifically for the people of West Grand Bahama, who, from time to time, had complained about the lack of consistent, adequate service in proper medical service. Or those of us who complained about the long drive to Freeport to seek out medical care,” said Minister Wilchcombe.

“So, today, you can appreciate my exuberance. The fact that I am so overjoyed with this new relationship, that I would like to thank Doctors Hospital. You are now setting an example for your private sector to reach out to the West and understand that people live here in West Grand Bahama too.”

Minister Wilchcombe pointed out the fact that a large portion of the population on the island of Grand Bahama live in the West, adding that too often most of the events, businesses and entertainment have only been concentrated in Freeport, dictating that Grand Bahamians living in the West travel the distance.

However, Minister Wilchcombe said if there can be a cause or reason for the transformation of communities in West Grand Bahama, by allowing the private sector to move in and bring with them all of the professionalism that is required within that community, then they would be setting a new trend.

“And for that, I thank you,” said Minister Wilchcombe.

“I also want to celebrate the fact that Doctor’s Hospital has assembled such an outstanding team of Bahamians. Two years from now, we will be fifty years old as a nation and look where God has brought us from. Look at what we have achieved. Often times we have ignored the fact that this has taken time and we don’t appreciate the incredible journey that our people have made. If we can reach out and establish partnerships with Cleveland Clinic and others because of the service they provide, imagine the future possibilities.

“I want to congratulate Doctors Hospital and I want to specifically congratulate its president. I also want to congratulate Dr. Kavala.

“Dr. Kavala, You are exceptional. You’re an iconic figure in this community.

Everyone knows you and we all celebrate you. You have touched so many lives.

You’re the one people call on when there is nowhere else to go. Our entire Grand Bahama and The Bahamas must offer you congratulations and thanks for all that you’ve done for the people of this community over the many years. We love you and we truly appreciate you.”

The Social Services and Urban Development Minister said this present government and successive Progressive Liberal Party governments have always been committed to health care, while holding on to a general, social philosophy – to heal the sick, feed the poor, guide the youth and bring peace to every heart.

Minister Wilchcombe pointed out that when the PLP party was first elected in 1967, the whole idea was to eliminate ignorance, disease and poverty. A mission, he said, is one which the party still pursues even to this day.

“As God would have it, I now have an opportunity and a responsibility to reach out to those persons in our country today, many who are homeless or living in abject poverty,” said Minister Wilchcombe.  “In Grand Bahama, 9.7 percent, in the capital 12.4 percent and in the Family Islands 17.2 percent of the people are living in poverty. Too many of our people are living in poverty or are homeless.  We all have a responsibility to help, but the only way it works is if we have a partnership. So, when you have this kind of partnership between Doctors hospital and Dr. Kavala, then we can help even more people and bring more opportunities for better health care for the people in West Grand Bahama.

“So, I congratulate Doctors Hospital for taking up the mantle to carry on the tradition of great health care for the people here in Eight Mile Rock and in West Grand Bahama. I also want to assure Dr. Kavala that what he has done for the people of this community for so many years has been greatly appreciated and will never be forgotten.”

 

By Andrew Coakley

Release: BIS

Header: Minister of Social Services and urban Renewal, Hon. Obie Wilchcombe (right), stands with Dr. Malik Kavala and his wife in front of the new sign at the clinic, which was unveiled at an official renaming ceremony on Monday, November 22, 2021. After close to fifty years of serving the people of Eight Mile Rock and West Grand Bahama, Dr. Kavala is retiring at 75 years old and handing his clinic and its facilities over to Doctors Hospital. At left is Senator Kirkland Russell, who brought remarks on behalf of the Minister for Grand Bahama.

Insert: Minister of Social Services and Urban Development, the Hon. Obie Wilchcombe was the keynote speaker during the official handing over of the Kavala Medical Clinic to Doctors Hospital, during a brief ceremony on Monday, November 22, 2021.

 

(BIS Photo/Andrew Miller)

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Bahamas News

RBDF Operation Strengthens Maritime Security Amidst Regional Turmoil

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Defence Headquarters, 17 MAR. ’24: A joint operation between the Royal Bahamas Defence Force (RBDF) and the Royal Bahamas Police Force (RBPF) led to the apprehension of 50 Haitian migrants approximately 5 nautical miles west of Bell Island on Saturday, March 16th.

The operation was initiated following the initial sighting of a sailing vessel, believed to be of Haitian origin, 8 miles southwest of Staniel Cay in the Exumas. RBDF swiftly deployed air and surface assets stationed at Matthew Town Inagua, supported by Police officials in Staniel Cay who verified the sighting. The migrants were intercepted by RBDF personnel stationed at the Land and Sea Park, Wardrick Wells Exuma, and subsequently handed over to the safe boat crew. They are currently under apprehension pending further investigation, with the imminent arrival of HMBS Rolly Gray.

In response to the ongoing instability in Haiti, Commodore Raymond King has announced the implementation of a strategic blockade in the southern Bahamas. This initiative includes the deployment of six surface vessels, one aircraft, and 120 highly skilled RBDF personnel. Patrol operations will be concentrated in critical areas such as the northern coast of Haiti, the Old Bahama Channel, and the Windward Passage, with the aim of deterring unauthorized entry attempts and preserving maritime security in the region.

The effectiveness of these decisive measures is evident, with recent apprehensions totaling 247 individuals by the RBDF. Commodore Raymond E. King emphasizes the commitment to bolstering maritime security through collaborative efforts with regional partners and local law enforcement agencies.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force remains committed to safeguarding the nation’s borders and territorial integrity, working collaboratively with regional partners.

(For further information please contact the RBDF Public Relations Department or visit our website: www.rbdf.gov.bs, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and view our Youtube channel)

-rbdf-

#GuardOurHeritage

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Provo International Airport reaches tipping point; desperate hunt for rooms for 200 Travellers left stranded

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Deandrea Hamilton

Editor

 

#TurksandCaicos, March 16, 2024 -Despite the desperate situation, no one is comfortable with ferrying hundreds of stranded tourists to nearby North Caicos to put them up in hotels after a dismal day at the country’s main airport; there are little to no rooms in Providenciales.

The Turks and Caicos Islands, one of the Caribbean’s most alluring destinations is plagued by an airport experience consistently delivering to it, a black-eye and on Saturday March 16 it was particularly ugly.

“For those of you waiting in inbound flight 855 JFK to TCI we have been diverted to Dominican Republic, DR.  I will try to post if I get any info.  Have a few drinks.  It’s going to be a while, said Julie Desantis on Turks and Caicos Tourist Guide, a Facebook community page.

Deb Ballard, who said her delay was more than six hours added, “Airport here in TCI is unbearable.  All the flights seem to be delayed, a thousand people in rooms built for a couple hundred.  Trapped.”

There was reportedly also a flight from Philadelphia diverted to the DR.

And too numerous were reports of the frustration of travellers at the Providenciales International.  Some, we were informed, were caught in explosive arguments while towing the chaotic, slow moving security checkpoint lines.  As flights were being called, passengers tried to rush ahead of others who had been waiting and in some cases that led to verbal confrontations.

It’s the kind of last impression, travel destination do anything they can to avoid.

We’ve learned there was no real help on the ground, in the terminal earlier in the day; however, by Saturday night, Josephine Connolly, the Minister of Tourism was at the airport vowing that no one would sleep at the facility.

“I will make sure that no one sleeps here.  I am doing my best to accommodate everybody that why I am here, my PS is here and Mr. Smith is here from the airports authority,” said Connolly.

She was hoping to also run interference of negative publicity for the destination and its main airport but this action by her may be a courtesy coming a little too late. In the age of self-reporting, passengers were free to film, comment and convey whatever was their experience and disappointment and many did.

It is how residents became most acutely aware of the dire situation; social media posts by guests themselves who were trying to understand what was going on and what to do about it.

It’s anyone’s guess why the Providenciales International Airport (PLS) is an absolute mess today because up to now, there has been no statement, no explanation, no directives and no solution for the thousands of travellers impacted and the hundreds stuck at the airport with nowhere to stay.

Magnetic Media has fielded dozens of questions and comments and perspectives including a message shared with the Turks and Caicos Hotel and Tourism Association, TCHTA which explains as many as 200 guests were in dire need hotel accommodations for the night.

“We are looking for any property owners/villas that has vacancy and can accommodate these stranded guests.  We are making calls to the hotels and for the most part most of the hotels are at 100% capacity.”

The surging tourism interest in the Turks and Caicos Islands is famously embraced; touted by government and industry stakeholders, and it’s been communicated that an overcrowded airport “is a good problem to have” on the way to fixing it.

But that message and the years’ long wait have become a vexing cocktail that even residents say they are tired of guzzling.

“…TCI can’t handle the volume of flights they schedule.”

The situation is so impossible, that there is serious – though admittedly, last resort – consideration for a ferry ride to shuttle the hundreds of travellers into another island, North Caicos, where there are guest rooms available.  In the dark of night and with no real illumination on the water way, that idea of a 45-minute ferry for people tired and frustrated by cancelled travel plans is not gaining traction and will likely be nixed and will hopefully not be needed.

“I have a guest that left here after 12 noon and just contacted me 45-minutes ago and is asking my assistance for booking the hotels in Provo and getting them a taxi,” said a resort employee who is worried about his guests and wonders what is the problem at the airport.

Magnetic Media has reached out for a comment from the TCIAA, whose CEO has also been given  the task of taking calls from vacation villa owners or resorts which have rooms for lodging; but there were no official statements up to publication time.

At midnight, there were mixed reports from guests.  Some having been set up with a one night stay, others who had no clue what was next.

March is normally busy and the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority, TCIAA which manages the country’s airports should have anticipated that, explained hotel workers and others in the industry who are concerned about their guests and clients.

“Private jets are affected because they’re not allowed to land between 12 and 3 in order to avoid creating even more air congestion, the Miami Center, which controls the space around us, reassigns take off times to private jets despite their intended time.  So they are help up for sometimes, an entire day.”

Airline charter services are also skittish.

“…for fear they will get so delayed they will miss their next contract.  So now we are starting to risk our most top end clients as well as airline passengers.”

And the Airports Authority is not having the best time of it either.  Plagued with a wave of staff unrest which has led to some workers walking off the job, others taking industrial action and sudden terminations which are piled atop the infamous infrastructural dilemmas, it is clear any further delay on an immediate fix for the PLS will be detrimental to return guests and tourism on the whole.

“Three hours to get through the security line and then the delays,” explained a couple who are still at the Providenciales International though it is now minutes to midnight, adding, “So we have been here since 10:30 this morning and two of the people, the workers, they ran away from me.  They just left.  They just ran away, they were done!”

The guests are at the airport hoping for word on somewhere to rest their heads for the night.  TCIAA security officers have told them, they cannot sleep at the airport though many of them speaking to our reporter on the scene were prepared to do so.

Celeste Wagner Russ, a visitor to the TCI said: “The airport desperately needs an expansion – for passengers.  The space is mobbed, dirty and basically unhealthy for anyone.  The ladies room on the upper level is worse than anything I’ve ever seen in Penn Station.  The furniture is worn, dingy, and a very dismal welcome or departure.  For the tremendous number of travellers to T and C, this airport is a disgrace.”

The TCIAA, last month revealed, it had a short list of companies who qualified to advance to the next phase of the bidding battle.  The scope of work includes not only construction of an expanded airport, but management of it.  The end may be in sight, but it is admittedly years away from fruition.  An interim remedy for the PLS, is needed now.

“The congestions is exacerbated by no parallel taxiway. Which means an airplane can’t land and immediately get out of the way on the runway for the next guy to land because there is no parallel strip it could turn on to taxi to the terminal. So it takes twice as long to get each plane off the runway because they land, turn around and taxi back to the airport, where there may not actually be a parking space opened up for them yet.”

Residents in social media posts have called for flights into Providenciales to be spread out over the day; currently there is a bottleneck; commercial airlines are bunched up and landing at the strip almost one right after the other between noon and 3pm, while the mornings and evenings are like a graveyard.

Airlines have not wanted to change their schedules, and the fear is that any demand by the Turks and Caicos Islands could lead to destination Providenciales being dropped from the flight itineraries of the major air carriers.

Many have labelled that reasoning, given the phenomenal performance of tourism in the Turks and Caicos Islands, “a load of nonsense.”

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Caribbean News

Record Visitor Arrivals and Tourism Earnings for Jamaica between January and February 2024

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#Kingston, Jamaica, March 15, 2024 – Jamaica welcomed one million visitors and generated tourism earnings of US$1 billion between January and February 2024.

This, according to Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, “is a record that has never happened in the history of Jamaica”.

“So, the good news is that Jamaica’s trajectory continues even against odds,” Mr. Bartlett added.

He was speaking during Thursday’s (March 14) press briefing at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in New Kingston for the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace.

Mr. Bartlett said the arrivals for the period included more than 600,000 stopover visitors and more than 300,000 cruise passengers.

“That is a seven per cent increase, in the case of stopover [visitors] for the year, and a whopping 29 per cent increase for cruise. But the big news for us is that our earnings at $1 billion [are] up 8.8 per cent over last year,” he outlined.

Minister Bartlett pointed out that the current trajectory augurs well for the Ministry’s projections that Jamaica will achieve five million visitors and earn US$5 billion by 2025.

Last year, Jamaica welcomed more than four million visitors and earned US$4.2 million.

 

Contact: Shanna K. Salmon

Photo Caption: Tourism Minister, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, addresses the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association (CHTA) Caribbean Travel Marketplace press briefing at the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) in New Kingston on Thursday (March 14). Listening is CHTA President, Nicola Madden-Greig.

 

Photographer: Donald De La Haye

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