A team of physicians and physician assistants from AdventHealth departed for Freeport, Grand Bahama, recently to help provide relief to the medical teams on staff at Rand Memorial Hospital. The doctors and nurses on staff at the hospital have been working virtually nonstop since Hurricane Dorian hit the island earlier last month.
This will be the first of several AdventHealth teams that will be rotating through the hospital, working with staff doctors to provide much needed medical care to those impacted by the hurricane. Providers and nurses from AdventHealth will be staffing the hospital for at least the next several weeks.
In addition to medical staff and at the request of the government of the Bahamas, AdventHealth is providing technical assistance for the rebuilding of Rand Memorial Hospital. The hospital suffered damage in the hurricane and needs substantial repair. Rand is the hub of care for much of the island, so getting the hospital to full capacity is a priority and can bring access to care to a large number of Bahamians. AdventHealth and its vendors are providing architectural and engineering team members to assist the hospital’s staff in repairing the damage done by Dorian.
“AdventHealth is in a unique position to help the people of the Bahamas,” said Daryl Tol, CEO of AdventHealth’s Central Florida Division. “We have the people with the skills and experience that are so badly needed in the Bahamas right now. I am so proud of our team members’ willingness to live out our healing mission where it’s needed most.”
Through its Global Missions program, AdventHealth continues to donate medical equipment and supplies. Five incubators were flown to Freeport in mid-September to replace damaged units in Rand’s NICU. A fully outfitted ambulance is also being prepared to be shipped.
Nearly $80,000 has been raised for Hurricane Dorian relief efforts through AdventHealth team members’ payroll deduction donations, private contributions and through donations at AdventHealth.com/Bahamas. Monetary donations continue to be needed to provide support to the Bahamian people.