The Cayman Islands new hospital is designed with the goal of attracting patients from around the world and it is continuing to grow.
Health City, planned with the intention of being a world-class medical tourism destination, has begun construction on new apartments for its visiting patients and staff members.
Health City Development recently commenced work on nearly sixty apartments for staff and longer-term extended stay patients. They are also planning on building a commercial building that will house banks, stores and office spaces. These works are part and parcel of a larger plan to develop the medical campus’ greater support services and to bolter its infrastructure.
Gene Thompson, director of Health City and one of the principals of Health City Development, has recently remarked that the health-services based project is growing at a fevered clip. This is manifesting itself in the form of increased patronage from the international community, namely the United States and Canada. He also indicated that the timing was right to begin this expansion and that, if anything, they are a little behind of where they want to be with respect to accommodating their marked growth. The new residences will be predominantly geared toward patients requiring longer stays at the facility and those who have been cleared to be safely discharged from the campus but need to remain close by for physiotherapy, rehabilitation and follow-up consultations.
The new expansion project will include a 5-story building that will have basketball and volleyball courts, a recreation room and a large pool integrated into the surrounding landscaping. Also in the planned growth are plans for a commercial building designed asa support system around the hospital and for East End in general as Health City continues to grow and build out. Officials for the Health City development are currently negotiation with various shops, businesses, retailers and banking houses to occupy the newly created spaces. The official planning permission was granted for the expansion recently and construction workers have begun the earth moving necessary to prepare the parcels for the new development.
Officials earmarked a 6-9 month construction window to complete both of the structures and a crew of predominantly local Caymanian journeymen and laborers will perform the works. This is similar to the model that was used during the design and construction of the initial hospital build. The standard requirement of reference letters and police clearances for the employment will not be required during the hiring process and the top men attached to the job have indicated that the idea is to give people opportunities they might not otherwise have had. It is also the expectation that asthe project continues to build out and grow that this supportive policy for local workers will continue. The long-term project could include continued expansions for years to come and there are plans for the development that will features altwater air conditioning, solar power generation and the use of environmentally sustainable innovations.