CIBC FIRSTCARIBBEAN PLEDGES ANOTHER USD$1 MILLION TO SICKKIDS-CARIBBEAN INITIATIVE FOR PHASE II OF THE REGIONAL PROGRAMME

Bridgetown, Barbados, September 25, 2019 – CIBC FirstCaribbeanhas pledged a further USD$1 million for phase II of the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI) which focusses on the improvement of outcomes and quality of life for children with cancer and other blood disorders across the region.

The regional bank signed another Memorandum of Understanding with SickKids Foundation of Canada, which underwrites the regional effort to provide support for additional specialised nurse training, as well as for research and advocacy over a five-year period.

In 2013, with the support of SickKids Foundation, the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI), a not-for-profit partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ministries of Health, hospitals and institutions in six Caribbean countries, and the SickKids Centre for Global Child Health, was established. This partnership focuses on building sustainable local capacity to diagnose, treat, and manage paediatric cancers and blood disorders.

CIBC FirstCaribbean joined the effort, pledging USD$1 million over a seven-year period (2014 – 2020) through its charitable arm, FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation. As nurse training partner, the bank supported the development of a Paediatric Haematology/Oncology Nursing Education program at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISoN), Trinidad and Tobago. The program aims to build nursing capacity in the Caribbean by developing highly-skilled clinical nurses and leaders who advocate for patients and their families, conduct quality improvement initiatives, and mentor other health care providers to deliver safe and effective paediatric care.

To date 27 nurses from Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago have completed the specialised one-year diploma programme.

Chief Executive Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Colette Delaney, hailed the bank’s support for the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative as “one of the most significant partnerships our bank has entered in the region. The life expectancy and quality of life of this region’s most vulnerable and valuable citizens – our children – who are battling this disease is being significantly impacted by the work of SCI.”

“We are confident that phase II will build on those gains as we train more nurses, doctors and other medical professionals and facilitate research to support policy recommendations and advocacy,” said Ms. Delaney, who is also the Chair of the FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation.

To ensure the work of SCI has a lasting impact, a special SCI advisory committee comprised of business leaders across the Caribbean, will be dedicated to furthering the mission of SCI. The committee, of which Ms. Delaney is a member, will also work with businesses, charities, and governments, including ministries of health, to ensure there is enough capital to continue the work of SCI in the region.

Since the start of the initiative, SCI has installed seven telemedicine sites in hospitals in the six partner countries; trained four excellent, committed haematology/oncology Caribbean fellows; completed more than 450 case consultations; created clinical care guidance documents and supportive guidance documents, all adapted for the local settings; completed more than 70,000 specialized diagnostic tests; registered more than 600 patients in custom-built, local paediatric oncology databases; trained 27 nurses from five countries in the post-basic haematology/oncology diploma program at the University of the West Indies School of Nursing; and participated in knowledge translation activities aimed at sharing SCI’s approach, challenges and success. Underpinning these activities is critical research that will inform policy recommendations for the region.

Phase II of SCI will see 13 more regional nurses begin training, in September, in the specialised care of children with blood disorders and cancers. There will also be continued efforts to conduct critical research and work with governments and academic institutions to develop effective national and regional strategies to improve outcomes for children with blood disorders and cancer.

The latest partnership between the bank and SCI runs between 2019 and 2024.

IMAGES:

Photo Captions: Signing One: CEO of SickKids Foundation Ted Garrard and Debra King, Director of Corporate Communications, CIBC FirstCaribbean sign the new MOU witnessed by SickKids Fellow Dr. Chantelle Browne-Farmer (back left) Bonnie Fleming-Carol, Associate Chief of Nursing & Inter-professional Education at SickKids (centre) and Dr. Upton Allen, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at SickKids.

Caption: Signing Three: Debra King, Director of Corporate Communications, CIBC FirstCaribbean presenting CEO of SickKids Foundation Ted Garrard with the pens used in the signing ceremony. Looking on is SickKids Fellow Dr. Chantelle Browne-Farmer (back left) Bonnie Fleming-Caro (partly hidden), Associate Chief of Nursing & Inter-professional Education at SickKids (centre) and Dr. Upton Allen, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at SickKids.

About CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment Banking, Retail and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments. We are located in sixteen (16) countries around the Caribbean, providing the banking services that fit our customers’ lives through approximately 3,000 employees in 68 branches and offices. We are one of the largest regionally listed financial services institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with over US$11 billion in assets and market capitalization of US $2 billion. We also have an office in Hong Kong. The face of banking is changing throughout the world and CIBC FirstCaribbean intends to lead these changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from banking in the Caribbean since 1836.

CIBC FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC is a leading Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal banking and business clients. Through our three major business units – Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets – CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices across Canada with offices in the United States and around the world.

For more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com , Facebook, Twitter , LinkedIn, Instagram or YouTube.