By: Precious Mills
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts (Friday 15th October 2021) — Two 40-bed capacity field hospitals donated by the United States government to the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis — one for each island — have the flexibility to be moved around to different community areas. Prime Minister Dr. Timothy Harris highlighted this at a handover ceremony at the Warner Park Cricket Stadium on Wednesday 13th October 2021, describing the donation as part of the government’s “life first strategy” during the COVID-19 pandemic. Along with the field hospitals, the US government donated two vans and technology equipment to NEMA, and a van and forklift for the Nevis Disaster Management Department, altogether at an estimated cost of almost $1.5 million.
PM Harris said: “This field hospital will add to our bed capacity, boosting our ability to fight this deadly virus. It provides a negative pressure facility to isolate COVID-19 patients, conferring another crucial health capability. Our people on the ground have had the necessary training to set up and dismantle this hospital, and it can be moved to any part of the Federation as the need arises — so we have mobility. That flexibility becomes a powerful detail in ensuring that we can deliver health care where it is most needed.” He pointed to the dramatic use of field hospitals in India during the pandemic, when the medical system was under severe strain, and noted that their use in at least one Indian state led to a 50% reduction in the death count, significantly helping to prevent healthcare practitioners from having to decide who receives care and who waits.