Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
CAY HILL--St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) has provided Health Minister Cornelius de Weever with details of its expansion plan. The expansion plan is based on the NAf. 30-35 million government has allocated in its budget for the institution, SMMC Board of Directors Chairman Kees Klarenbeek said in a letter to De Weever dated August 13.
The plan contains four phases. The beginning "phase zero" will cost NAf. 5 million and entails renovation of the current building, creation of temporary offices, realisation of additional or upgrade of existing doctors' offices for outpatients, renovation of bathrooms in the various wards, replacing of the nurse call system, fire detection, renovation of the kitchen and payment of a deposit for the new Hospital Information System (HIS).
Phase one will cost NAf. 30 million and entails the purchase of three Operating Room beds, 10 Intensive Care Unit beds and Medical Care Unit beds. This expansion will take up 1,250 square metres of space. Taking up 900 square metres of space will be the expansion of the Emergency Room and X-Ray Departments. The Obstetrics and Gynaecology Departments also will be expanded with 35 beds, taking up 1,500 square metres of space.
The cost of the other two phases planned for 2018 to 2023, is not yet estimated, Klarenbeek said in his letter. No decision has been taken on construction companies, drawings and specifications of the adjusted plan.
Klarenbeek provided the information based on questions De Weever forwarded to him from One St. Maarten People's Party (OSPP). Klarenbeek said SMMC had presented its adjusted plan during a meeting with the Health Ministry, General Pension Fund APS, Social and Health Insurance SZV in February.
