DART JOINS BATTLE OVER ROAD CLOSURE

Georgina Wilcox

Dart Realty will now join Government in defending the law suit filed against government by four West Bay women in connection with the closure of the West Bay Road.

The law suit filed by Alice Mae Coe, Annie Multon, Ezmie Smith and Betty Ebanks did not name Dart Realty but Dart has applied to the courts to be a co-defendant and this has been granted.

In a statement Dart said:

”The remedies sought by the Plaintiffs, if granted , would directly affect Dart Realty’s rights and interests in the National Roads Authority (NRA) Agreement.

“As such, the Court decided that it would be inequitable for this action to proceed without our participation.

“Dart Realty understands the importance to all parties to have this addressed quickly and we will adhere to the timetable set by the Court for a speedy resolution.”

The case is slated to be heard in the Grand Court on 11 December, 2013.

MEDEVAC OFFSHORE

Injured ship’s crewman medevac’d by RCIPS helicopter.

A 38 year old man, who sustained serious back injuries at sea, was medevac’d to Grand Cayman by the RCIPS Air Operations Unit on Friday (30) afternoon and is now is hospital.

Shortly before noon today, Friday 30 August, the RCIPS was contacted by the master of a crane ship that was 145 nautical miles northwest of Grand Cayman. The master reported that a member of his crew had fallen on a structure and had sustained suspected spinal injuries. The injured man had been immobilised and was being treated by the ship’s paramedic, however his pain levels were rapidly increasing and it was clear that he required urgent hospital assessment. The ship – McDermott Derrick Crane Barge 50 – would take in excess of 20 hours to reach Grand Cayman.

Following as assessment of the situation, the RCIPS launched its helicopter around 3.00pm in the afternoon.

The helicopter rendezvoused with the ship approximately 110 miles north west of Grand Cayman at 4.00pm. It landed on the ship’s helideck and then airlifted the injured crewman back to Owen Roberts International Airport. On arrival, at about 5.15pm, they were met by an ambulance crew who transported the injured man to the Cayman Islands Hospital where he is currently being treated.

CAYMAN PHARMACISTS EARN DIABETES EDUCATION CERTIFICATION

In June 2013, four Pharmacists from the Cayman Pharmacy Group received their Caribbean Certified Diabetes Educator (CCDE) Certificates from the programme offered by the University of the West Indies. Daemione White, Simone Davis, Todd Jefferson and Shashorna Campbell earned their certifications after attending a 12 hour seminar presented by CCDE trainer Nurse Andrea Hunt as well as the successful completion of 250 hours of diabetes education with clients who have pre-diabetes, Type I or Type II diabetes, and gestational diabetes. Each of the four pharmacists also successfully completed the CCDE exam. These qualifications are similar to the American and Canadian Diabetes Education Certification qualifications.

The Diabetes Education Centre at Professional Pharmacy in The Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital (CTMH) offers five hours of complimentary diabetes education to all patients who patronize any of the Cayman Pharmacy Group’s three locations. The service will expand to be offered at West Bay Pharmacy & Gifts this autumn.

White said, “According the 2010 Cayman Islands Census, diabetes is one of the top three illnesses in the nation affecting about 43 in 1000 people. This figure is believed to be low due to underreporting of the condition and patients who are not screened for the condition or do not have access to health care. Our aim as Diabetes Educators is to inform patients about their condition and to empower them to use the tools which they learn to self-manage their chronic condition.”

“The long-term complications of diabetes include, but are not limited to, blindness and lower limb amputations,” Campbell added. “The top two disabilities in the nation were sight (14.6 per 1000) and lower limb disabilities (9.6 per 1000). We infer from these statistics that there may be a higher incidence of people living with uncontrolled or undetected diabetes.”

“As joint pharmacists and CCDEs, we have the additional expertise to review our client’s medication care plan.  We can educate our clients on the purpose, side-effects and how to administer their medications to receive the most benefit,” Davis emphasized.

Jefferson said, “It is our aim to impact positively on our patient’s lifestyle to enhance their eating habits and exercise pattern preventing further complications associated with diabetes. We also hope to improve detection rates of the condition and see a reduction in the national diabetes incidence rate.”

David Pellow, co-owner of Professional Pharmacy Services, added, “We are proud of the accomplishment of our 4 pharmacists. We look forward to providing this health resource to the community through the Diabetes Education Centre at The Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital (CTMH) and soon in West Bay.”

About Cayman Pharmacy Group

Cayman Pharmacy Group has three Pharmacies: Professional Pharmacy Services at CTMH, West Bay Pharmacy and Gifts at Centennial Towers, and Savannah Pharmacy and Gifts at Countryside Shopping Village.  Mr. David Pellow is the General Manager of the Cayman Pharmacy Group, and is the Chief Pharmacist at Professional Pharmacy Services Ltd, located in Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital.

For information on Cayman Pharmacy Group or the Diabetes Education Centre, visit www.caymanpharmacy.com.

UCCI IMPLEMENTS FIRST NURSING PROGRAMME

Georgina Wilcox

The University College of the Cayman Islands’ (UCCI ) School of Nursing along with the International Council of Nurses spoke to the first group of students attending a nursing education session at the College last Thursday (29).

This is the first nursing programme ever implemented in the Cayman Islands.

The 4-year programme starts this September semester and will focus on building relationships in the community.

UCCI’s Human Resource Department Consultant, Dr. Una Reid, said, “Most of the graduates will be national, native Caymanians because presently most of your nurses are from overseas and I think one of the goals of this programme is to try to reverse that in the sense that you may have in the future one Caymanian nurse and your own people that are qualified to provide here for your own people.”

There are approximately 13 students enrolled in the UCCI programme and the college is hoping next year’s numbers will reach the maximum 20 students.

The programme was officially launched by the UCCI, in conjunction with the Ministry of Education, Financial Services & Employment and the Ministry of Health, Environment, Youth, Sports & Culture, on April 4, 2013.

At the time President Bodden, UCCI President and Chair of the Nursing Advisory Council said, “The establishment of a School of Nursing at the University College not only broadens the educational options of our students, but also speaks volumes to the growth of UCCI as a tertiary level institution.  Importantly, too, it conveys a sense of the growth of the Cayman Islands as a maturing society.”

See iNews Cayman story published April 5 2013 “New nursing programme formally launched” at: http://www.ieyenews.com/2013/04/new-nursing-programme-formally-launched/