Carib Scope

标签： Bahamas

巴哈马

  • Newly renovated PMH A&E floods after heavy rainstorm

    Newly renovated PMH A&E floods after heavy rainstorm

    Just weeks after officials celebrated the completion of a years-delayed renovation project, the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department at Nassau’s Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) fell victim to severe weather, experiencing localized flooding on Sunday after intense thunderstorms dumped record levels of rain across New Providence island.

    The floodwater entered the facility through the department’s ambulance bay doors, leaving stagnant water pooled in several critical sections of the newly updated wing. Images and video footage of the incident quickly spread across social media platforms, showing medical personnel and other people walking through the standing water while wearing disposable protective shoe coverings.

    In an official statement released after the incident, hospital leadership moved quickly to clarify that the flooding was not caused by structural defects to the roof or ceiling of the renovated building. Instead, the hospital attributed the incident to an extraordinary accumulation of rainwater outside the facility, noting that PMH sits in a low-lying area that was disproportionately impacted by the extreme downpour. Nearby commercial buildings and other local structures also reported significant flooding challenges from the same storm system, the statement added.

    Hospital teams responded to the emergency within minutes, launching immediate mitigation efforts to restore normal operations. Affected zones were fully cleaned and disinfected, while patients and staff were temporarily relocated to unaffected alternate areas to ensure no interruption to critical emergency care. As a temporary precaution, physical barriers were installed at the flood-impacted entrance, and emergency vehicle access was rerouted to an alternate entry point while engineering teams assess the site and develop long-term fixes.

    The incident comes just three weeks after Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville formally announced that the full renovation of the A&E department was complete, and the facility had entered full operational status following a phased transition. Darville framed the project’s completion as a major landmark for the country’s public health system, ending years of delays that had drawn widespread public criticism. The renovation was launched in response to longstanding public complaints over inadequate conditions at PMH, including persistent overcrowding and widespread aging infrastructure failures across the hospital campus.

    Moving forward, PMH officials confirmed they will work alongside infrastructure partners to identify additional adaptive measures to prevent similar disruptions during future extreme weather events. “The Public Hospitals Authority and Princess Margaret Hospital remain committed to ensuring the safety and continuity of care for patients, staff, and visitors,” the statement concluded.

  • Da Pond Band vows to continue after losing five members in crash

    Da Pond Band vows to continue after losing five members in crash

    Eight days after a catastrophic plane crash in North Andros, Bahamas, claimed the lives of five of its 14 members, beloved Bahamian musical group Da Pond Band made its emotional return to the stage, rejecting any plans to disband and honoring the legacy of their fallen bandmates. The July 10 crash, which killed all 10 people on board the Flamingo Air Cessna 402 en route to a regatta performance, stands as one of the deadliest aviation accidents the Caribbean nation has seen in decades. Among the victims were the band’s founder and leader Giovanni “Geo” McKenzie, Rashad Storr, Mateo Winder, Toniquea Gilot and Tra’vis Johnson.

    For the nine surviving musicians, led by co-leader Lamar Polhamus, stepping back into performance was not a business decision alone — it was a act of grief, honor, and survival. Founded in 2022 as a six-member ensemble that grew to 14 before the crash, Da Pond Band has built a distinct sound and deep relationships within the Bahamas’ tight-knit entertainment community. Polhamus explained that continuing to play is the only way to honor the work the group built with the five lost members.

    “Music is our coping mechanism right now,” Polhamus shared in an interview with The Tribune. “So, at the end of the day, music stops, we stop. We cannot stop.”

    The band’s first post-tragedy show came on July 18 at the Cat Island Boat Cruise, followed by performances at Nassau’s iconic Goombay Festival on July 24 and the Made in The Bahamas showcase at Nassau Cruise Port on July 25. Another scheduled appearance is set for Beer Fest 2 on August 2. All of these engagements were commitments arranged before the crash, with many organized by close personal friends of the band, Polhamus noted.

    The tragedy cast a shadow over the Bahamas’ 53rd Independence anniversary, turning a national celebration into a period of nationwide mourning. It also sent shockwaves through the country’s small entertainment industry, as the lost musicians contributed far beyond Da Pond Band. Winder, a multi-instrumentalist skilled in drums, keyboard, guitar, bass, and saxophone, had recently toured as keyboardist for Grammy-winning Bahamian group Baha Men in Milwaukee. Storr, a guitarist, also worked as a mechanic at Western Air, and his partner, singer Patrice Glinton, has said she cannot yet return to the stage after the loss.

    A candlelight vigil honoring all 10 crash victims drew more than 300 relatives, friends, and supporters to The Pond, a legendary Bahamian entertainment venue closely tied to the band, on July 14. For the surviving members, grief has only pulled them closer together. Polhamus described the band as a chosen family, saying that being together, sharing memories, and playing music is the only way they can process their loss.

    “Apart, all hell breaks loose, basically, but once we’re together and we travel, and we’re able to talk to each other, be able to share some jokes, share some memories, and share some laughs,” Polhamus said. The band has no plans to name a new leader, he added, confirming that McKenzie will forever remain Da Pond Band’s only leader.

    Moving forward, the band plans to continue playing the music that earned them a loyal following across the Bahamas, weaving tributes to their fallen bandmates into every performance. Polhamus asked the public for ongoing support and prayers as the group adjusts to performing without nearly a third of its members, noting that continued public love is the greatest help the band can receive right now.

    In addition to the five Da Pond Band members, the crash claimed the lives of veteran DJ Melvin “DJ Fresh International” Henfield, Andros residents Quintin Myers and Macaro Rolle, pilot Franklyn Cambridge, and 16-year-old Nicholas Oliver Jr. Following the accident, the Bahamas Aircraft Accident Investigation Authority secured the crash site, preserved evidence, and launched a formal investigation, appointing Chief Investigator Kendall Dorsett Jr. to lead the probe. As of the latest update, investigators have not determined a cause for the crash or identified contributing factors, and have asked the public to avoid speculation while the investigation proceeds.

  • Free Town youth get hands-on business lessons

    Free Town youth get hands-on business lessons

    Across Free Town constituency, young aspiring creators and innovators are wrapping up a hands-on deep dive into the world of business this week, thanks to a new youth initiative organized by local Member of Parliament Lincoln Deal. The three-day Kid-Preneur Summer Camp, hosted on the campus of Palmdale Primary School, has opened its doors to participants between the ages of 10 and 16, offering a unique curriculum focused on building real-world entrepreneurial skills that go far beyond traditional classroom learning.

    Unlike generic youth development programs, this camp centers on interactive workshops and experiential learning activities, designed to introduce core concepts of business ownership, personal finance, and independent thinking to young participants. Over the course of the event, campers have worked through step-by-step lessons covering every foundational stage of launching a small venture: from brainstorming and refining original business ideas, to crafting a distinct brand identity, developing tangible products, and preparing compelling pitches to share their vision with others.

    As the program draws to a close on its final day, it will cap off the learning experience with Community Market Day, a public event that gives every young participant the chance to test their new skills in a real-world setting. Attendees will set up stalls to showcase and sell the products they developed throughout the camp, turning their week of learning into tangible practice that connects them directly with local consumers. Upon completing all program requirements, every participant will also receive an official business certificate recognizing their work, walking away with more than just new knowledge – they will leave with their own established brand, a polished business pitch, and first-hand experience selling products to the public.

    In comments on the initiative, MP Lincoln Deal explained that the summer camp is a core part of a wider strategy to invest in the future of young people across Free Town constituency. The goal, he noted, is to equip the area’s youth with practical economic and life skills that will serve them well into adulthood, while also fostering a culture of innovation and encouraging an entrepreneurial mindset from an early age. By introducing these concepts before young people enter the workforce or higher education, the program aims to remove barriers to entrepreneurship and give local youth a head start on building independent, successful futures.

  • Residents celebrate land ownership milestone at Fox Hill Independence Day Ceremony

    Residents celebrate land ownership milestone at Fox Hill Independence Day Ceremony

    On the 53rd anniversary of The Bahamas’ independence from British rule, hundreds of residents gathered at Fox Hill’s iconic Parade Grounds for the annual flag-raising celebration, where the national government delivered a landmark gift to dozens of local homeowners: officially registered, government-stamped property deeds that formalize their ownership of land long occupied by their families. The deed presentation ceremony, hosted by Fox Hill’s Member of Parliament Fred Mitchell, marked the culmination of a years-long land title regularization program aimed at resolving historical ambiguities around land ownership for working-class Bahamian families across the country. Housing Minister Keith Bell, who led the official presentation of the documents to assembled homeowners, emphasized that securing clear property title is more than a bureaucratic formality—it is a fundamental step toward building intergenerational wealth and expanding economic opportunity for Bahamian citizens. “For far too many families in this community and across our nation, the lack of a formal, registered deed has prevented them from accessing home equity loans, making critical home improvements, and passing property down to their children with full legal certainty,” Bell told the crowd gathered at the parade grounds. “Today, we are fixing that injustice, and fulfilling a key promise our administration made to the Bahamian people when we took office.” Mitchell echoed Bell’s remarks, noting that the Fox Hill regularization initiative had resolved title issues for more than 50 local households after years of advocacy from community members. He added that the government’s land title program is ongoing, with additional applications from Fox Hill residents still being processed for future presentations. For many of the homeowners who received their deeds on Independence Day, the timing of the event carried deep symbolic meaning. Independence, they noted, is not just about national sovereignty—it is about individual Bahamians gaining full control and security over the land that has anchored their families for generations. Government officials confirmed that the national land title regularization program will continue expanding to other districts in the coming months, with the goal of clearing backlogged applications and formalizing ownership for thousands of households across the archipelago by the end of the fiscal year.

  • Son on bail found dead in shallow waters near cay

    Son on bail found dead in shallow waters near cay

    A multi-day search operation in Exuma, Bahamas, has ended in tragedy after authorities recovered the body of 23-year-old Andrew Sears Jr., a man who had been released on bail, from shallow waters close to Madam Dau’s Cay on Wednesday. The grim discovery came 24 hours after Sears placed an emergency distress call to local law enforcement, which immediately launched a manhunt across the region.

    Initial search efforts focused on the Barraterre community following the Tuesday distress call, but first responding teams were unable to locate the missing young man. To expand the search, a specialized search and rescue unit was deployed from New Providence, combining advanced drone surveillance, tracking canine units, and electronic ankle monitoring data to narrow down Sears’s location. The combined resources ultimately led recovery teams to the shallow waters where his body was found.

    When officers recovered the body, Sears’s father, Andrew Sears Sr., was present at the scene to identify his son and accompany law enforcement as the remains were transported to the Exuma mainland for further processing. The elder Sears told reporters that police first contacted him shortly after receiving his son’s distress call on Tuesday, asking for information about his potential whereabouts. Because Sears Sr. lives a considerable distance from the search area, he told officers he had no information to share on his son’s location.

    After being notified, the father attempted multiple times to reach his son via phone call and text message, but all attempts to connect went unanswered. “To be honest, when the officer called me, my mind was done prepared for the worse, but I was praying and hoping for the best,” Sears Sr. recalled in an interview. “Like I tell the officer when I reach there, there’s nobody in the world that could have an ankle monitoring bracelet who still alive and y’all ain’t see that (moving). I say only two things could really happen. Either he cut off the monitor and leave it there or he pass out and sleeping some place in the bush. The only thing we could try do is locate him.”

    Sears Sr. added that he was not aware police had already tracked his son’s general location via the ankle monitor before the body was found in the water. Despite overwhelming grief, the elder Sears stayed to assist law enforcement with their recovery effort, working to keep his composure at the scene. “When we reach there, my eyes become full, but what could I do? I didn’t want to make another problem on the scene,” he said.

    The grieving father expressed gratitude to police for the speed and effort they put into the search operation, noting that the entire family has been shattered by the loss. He shared that he has been unable to sleep since learning of his son’s death, and that Sears Jr.’s mother and siblings are also struggling deeply to cope with the sudden tragedy.

    When asked if he suspected foul play played a role in his son’s death, Sears Sr. declined to speculate, saying the family is focused on waiting for official investigation results to get clear answers. He added that the last time he spoke to his son was the previous Friday, and at no point did the 23-year-old indicate he felt his life was in danger. Sears Sr. confirmed he was aware of a recent legal dispute involving his son and a resident of Barraterre, but said the family had left the matter to be resolved through the court system.

    Friends and family remember Andrew Sears Jr. as a warm, loving young man. He was self-employed, running a small landscaping and construction business, and had recently been planning to expand his operations to serve more clients.

    As of Thursday, Bahamian police have not yet officially classified the death as suspicious, accidental, or the result of foul play. A full autopsy has been scheduled to determine the exact cause of Sears Jr.’s death, which will allow investigators to move forward with their probe into the circumstances surrounding the tragedy.

  • Stranded American veteran rescued

    Stranded American veteran rescued

    An 80-year-old American military veteran who ran his 35-foot sailboat aground on a Bahamian reef after two straight days of manual steering without sleep is speaking out about the overwhelming compassion he received from local fishermen and rescue workers who brought him safely to shore and helped repair his damaged vessel for the onward journey to Florida.

    The incident unfolded earlier this month as Raymond Rosen set sail from the Dominican Republic’s northern coast bound for Hollywood, Florida, where he planned to visit his 101-year-old mother. What should have been a familiar voyage turned dangerous when a series of unexpected challenges left Rosen stranded hundreds of meters from shore.

    Rosen explained that his boat’s engine had failed before departure, leaving him unable to rely on his autopilot system — which requires engine power to keep the navigation batteries charged. With no experienced sailing partner available to join the trip, he took on the full burden of steering the vessel by hand nonstop for nearly 48 hours. Having made the same crossing before with a co-pilot, Rosen admitted he had drastically underestimated the physical and mental toll of navigating alone for such a long stretch.

    “After two nights without any sleep, I was hand steering for two days, and on the third night without any sleep, at one or three o’clock in the morning, I crashed into the reef off of the cay,” Rosen recalled. He added that he had deviated from his planned stop at Salt Cay to attempt a navigation check near West Caicos, but failed to spot his target landmark before falling into an exhausted sleep.

    When he woke, a deafening crashing noise jolted him awake. Still disoriented from sleep deprivation, he initially believed he had been knocked off course in the open ocean, only to realize his sailboat had run aground on a reef just hundreds of meters from a beach near Booby Cay, a small islet off Mayaguana, the southernmost island of the Bahamas.

    After confirming his vessel was irreparably stuck, Rosen deployed his emergency positioning beacon into the water and waited for official rescue teams to respond. Hours passed with no sign of a coast guard response, but that did not mean he was alone. Local fishermen out on a routine catch spotted the sailboat’s mast sticking up above the water and immediately altered their course to investigate.

    Lloyd Strachan, one of the fishermen who joined the rescue, explained that he and his two crewmates were harvesting conch near Booby Cay when they spotted the stranded vessel. When they reached the reef, they found the elderly veteran weak and in distress. Though their boat was already loaded with the day’s catch and their fuel supply was only calculated for the planned fishing route, they did not hesitate to prioritize helping Rosen. Strachan noted that fuel costs have risen sharply in the region, currently running around $9 a gallon, making the unplanned detour an additional financial burden — but he stressed that human life will always outweigh any temporary economic loss. “Life comes first,” he said firmly.

    Strachan told reporters Rosen told him he had not eaten for two days and was severely dehydrated, so the team rushed to get him to shore as quickly as possible, telling him to grab only his most important documents and belongings before transferring him to their fishing boat.

    Once Rosen was brought ashore, the Royal Bahamas Defence Force notified Patrick Collie, superintendent of Mayaguana’s volunteer search and rescue team, shortly after 6 a.m. Collie immediately set out on the 27-mile trip to Booby Cay to assist. By the time he arrived, the fishermen had already extracted Rosen from the damaged sailboat.

    Collie, who has spent 18 years working in land and sea rescue on Mayaguana and received specialized rescue training from the U.S. military, initially assumed the sailboat was too badly damaged to salvage. When he inspected the vessel and found it was still afloat, he launched a recovery operation to pull it off the reef. Rosen was taken to a local clinic for a medical assessment and treatment for dehydration, then settled into a local hotel while Collie and his team worked to repair the boat. Over two days, the team removed the sailboat from the reef, fixed the broken engine, repaired a leaking rudder, and got the vessel back into seaworthy condition.

    Beyond repairing the boat, Collie also arranged for an experienced local sailor to accompany Rosen for the final leg of his journey to Florida, to prevent a repeat of the dangerous exhaustion that caused the grounding. Collie emphasized that for him, the job of a rescuer does not end when the stranded person reaches land. “As the search and rescue man, for me, my job finished when they see he up on land. But as the human side, my job finished when I see he up and running and leaving Mayaguana in good condition,” he explained.

    Looking back on his frightening ordeal, Rosen said the experience exposed him to both kindness and hardship, but he made a point to single out Collie and the local fishermen for extraordinary praise. “I ran into the best of humanity and the worst of humanity all in one spot,” he said. “Patrick Collie is the best of humanity.”

  • Man on bail shot to death

    Man on bail shot to death

    A pre-trial defendant facing multiple serious violent crime charges has been killed in a targeted drive-by shooting in the Kemp Road area, sending shockwaves through local communities and raising fresh questions about public safety in the region. The 23-year-old victim, identified by close sources as Robertho Clairvius, was out on bail and under court-ordered electronic monitoring when the attack unfolded on the evening of the incident, along Lyon Road just off the main Kemp Road corridor.

    Law enforcement has not released an official public identification of the deceased as of the latest updates, but confirmed that the man was under active electronic surveillance as a condition of his recent bail release. Preliminary investigative briefings from officers at the crime scene outline a clear sequence of events: Clairvius was on foot, traveling toward his nearby home when an unidentified vehicle pulled alongside him. Multiple occupants inside the vehicle opened fire with firearms, striking the 23-year-old multiple times and inflicting fatal wounds.

    Clairvius’ legal history dates back to 2022, when he was first charged with three separate violent offenses that he was set to face trial for. Prosecutors’ case files detail that on September 26 that year, when Clairvius was 18 years old, he allegedly carried out an armed robbery of a local man named Keithrovan Butler. According to the prosecution’s allegations, Clairvius was armed with a machine gun during the incident and stole $1,440 from Butler.

    Just nine days after the alleged robbery, on October 5, 2022, prosecutors say Clairvius committed the fatal shooting that made up the most serious charge against him. The shooting took place at Apache Alley, another location just off Kemp Road. In that incident, he is accused of killing Arlington “Quack” Stubbs and leaving a 16-year-old juvenile girl with non-fatal gunshot wounds. Additional charges of attempted murder were added to his case as a result of the girl’s injuries.

    As of the latest update, law enforcement has not announced any arrests in connection with the drive-by killing that killed Clairvius. Investigations into the identity of the attackers, the motive for the shooting, and other key details remain ongoing, with detectives working through evidence collected at the scene and witness statements to build a full picture of the incident.

  • Dr Sands criticises GLP-1 Black Market

    Dr Sands criticises GLP-1 Black Market

    As global popularity of GLP-1 weight loss and diabetes medications surges, The Bahamas is grappling with a growing unregulated black market trade that has prompted sharp warnings from top health officials over severe public safety risks. Former Health Minister Dr. Duane Sands has issued a stark rebuke of consumers who purchase discounted GLP-1 injections from unlicensed vendors, describing the risky practice as reckless and warning that it could lead to life-threatening health complications.

    Dr. Sands, a practicing cardiovascular surgeon who regularly prescribes GLP-1 treatments to his patients, told local outlet The Tribune that any person who obtains prescription medications of any kind — including GLP-1 drugs, erectile dysfunction treatments, antibiotics or acne medication — from unqualified, unlicensed sellers is taking an unnecessary and foolish risk. His comments come amid a booming unregulated trade in the country, where social media influencers have popularized GLP-1 medications for cosmetic weight loss, and unlicensed distributors undercut legitimate medical channels by selling the prescription-only drugs at discounted prices.

    GLP-1 receptor agonists are clinically approved prescription medications originally developed to manage type 2 diabetes, and later authorized for chronic weight management. The drugs work by regulating blood sugar levels and reducing appetite, leading to gradual, sustained weight loss. Popular brand-name versions include Ozempic, Wegovy, Trulicity, and Victoza, while the newer Mounjaro, a dual GIP/GLP-1 agonist, produces similar therapeutic effects. The treatment has become a global cultural phenomenon in recent years, with social media platforms like TikTok flooded with personal weight loss journey content from users, many of whom openly admit to purchasing generic, unregulated doses from unofficial sellers in The Bahamas.

    Dr. Sands emphasized that most black market GLP-1 sellers have no legal authority to prescribe or administer prescription medications, and are driven solely by profit, with no accountability if patients experience adverse reactions. “When something bad happens then they scurry for the hills,” he said. “Because these are drugs, and you need to know what the heck you’re doing.” He also extended the criticism to unlicensed aesthetic providers operating illegally in the country, noting that many unqualified practitioners already offer unregulated cosmetic injections without proper medical credentials, all to earn a quick profit.

    While most GLP-1 products are designed for at-home self-administration with proper training, Dr. Sands stressed that the medications should only ever be used after a thorough evaluation and formal prescription from a licensed, qualified healthcare provider. He warned that cutting corners to save money by purchasing from unlicensed sellers can lead to devastating, even fatal, health outcomes. “For many of these people, the cost-benefit analysis on the surface looks good, but the dumbest thing that you can do is to go to somebody who doesn’t know what the hell they’re doing because you think you can save $10 or $50,” he said.

    Dr. Sands also detailed a common scam used by black market sellers to maximize profits: vendors buy higher-concentration formulations of GLP-1, dilute the drug to create multiple smaller doses, and sell the cut product to unsuspecting consumers at discounted prices. This unregulated practice leaves patients vulnerable to incorrect dosing, contamination, and other unexpected complications.

    GLP-1 medications have been available in The Bahamas for just over three years, and Dr. Sands noted that they fill a critical public health need in a country that faces disproportionately high rates of obesity, type 2 diabetes, and hypertension. Far from being just a cosmetic weight loss tool, he said the medications can be life-changing for patients with underlying chronic conditions. As a cardiovascular surgeon, he has witnessed firsthand the transformative benefits of appropriate GLP-1 use: he shared that some patients who were once “cardiac crippled” from severe heart disease have lost nearly 100 pounds with clinically supervised treatment and now enjoy full, active lives.

    To expand safe, legitimate access to the medications, Dr. Sands has called on the Bahamian government to add GLP-1 treatments to the National Health Insurance (NHI) funded formulary, pointing out that the current retail cost of $600 to $1,000 per month puts the treatment out of reach for many uninsured and low-income patients.

    Current Health and Wellness Minister Dr. Michael Darville has confirmed that the ruling Davis administration remains committed to fulfilling its campaign pledge to expand NHI coverage to include GLP-1 medications for eligible patients with chronic conditions including obesity and type 2 diabetes. The commitment was originally outlined in the Progressive Liberal Party’s “Blueprint for Change” campaign platform. Darville confirmed that health officials have already finalized a new national formulary that includes GLP-1 treatments, and the administration continues to advance the policy initiative during its current term, though he could not provide an exact timeline for when coverage will launch.

    Darville acknowledged that expanding public coverage for GLP-1 medications will increase government healthcare spending, but argued that the long-term public health benefits — including reduced complications from untreated obesity and diabetes — justify the upfront investment. He also added that medication alone cannot solve The Bahamas’ ongoing obesity crisis, emphasizing that consistent healthy eating habits and broader preventive wellness practices remain essential to improving population health outcomes.

  • Royal Nassau Sailing Club’s Summer Camp boosts confidence and teamwork

    Royal Nassau Sailing Club’s Summer Camp boosts confidence and teamwork

    As the Caribbean summer unfolds across The Bahamas, dozens of young people are filling their school break with more than just leisure at the Royal Nassau Sailing Club’s annual summer sailing camp. Far more than a simple introduction to a watersport, this three-week program blends hands-on sailing instruction with intentional character building, helping young beginners build teamwork, confidence and transferable life skills on the open water.
    Most participants joining the camp are first-time sailors, stepping onto a small boat for their very first sailing experience. Gabriel Newell, lead instructor for the beginner-friendly Sandfish class, explained that while a small handful of young sailors train through the Bahamas National Sailing School year-round, the majority only take part in the summer program, returning once annually to hone their abilities. Even for those just three days into their sailing journey, the camp prioritizes growth that extends far beyond basic boat handling.
    “Sailing is not only just about sailing,” Newell explained. “It’s about character development. It’s about having fun, but being safe at the same time.” To balance structured learning and recreation, campers split their daily time between one-on-one sailing instruction and group activities, ranging from on-the-water games to land-based team challenges. Each Friday, the entire group travels to Athol Island for a dedicated beach day, where young sailors swim, compete in casual volleyball and soccer matches, and share group meals away from the dock.
    For Newell, leading the camp is more than just a summer job – it is a full-circle opportunity to give back to a program that transformed his own life. He first encountered organized sailing as an eighth-grade student at T.A. Thompson Junior High School, through the Bahamas National Sailing School’s in-school outreach initiative that brought students to the Royal Nassau Sailing Club for weekly sessions. The experience quickly sparked a lifelong passion for the sport, and Newell began training year-round with the program. Eventually, former Bahamas National Sailing School director Robert Dunkley helped him secure a scholarship to study maritime studies at the prestigious LJM Maritime Academy.
    Earlier this year, Newell completed all required training and sea time to earn his international Certificate of Competency, a globally recognized license that qualifies him to work on commercial vessels of any size – from large cruise ships to oil tankers and bulk cargo carriers. Now, as an instructor returning to the program that launched his career, he finds deep purpose in mentoring the next generation of Bahamian sailors.
    “I am a product of the Bahamas National Sailing School,” Newell said, reflecting on his journey. “I came up through the ropes, I took my instructor’s course, and now I am teaching kids how to sail. It feels great. Sometimes I look at the little kids coming up, and I can see myself in them. In the future, I want to give even more than my time. I really want to invest in sailing in The Bahamas.”
    Newell also shared his pride in the recent designation of sailing as The Bahamas’ official national sport, a milestone he says will open new doors for young Bahamians interested in the sport and help grow participation across the country for years to come.

  • Doctors Hospital performs 70 cardiac catheterizations to combat heart disease

    Doctors Hospital performs 70 cardiac catheterizations to combat heart disease

    Heart disease continues to hold the grim title of the leading cause of death in The Bahamas, a situation made more dangerous by the large number of residents unknowingly living with the condition until it reaches a life-threatening stage, according to Dr. Sheena Antonio-Collie, Chief Medical Officer of Doctors Hospital.

    Dr. Antonio-Collie’s public warning comes alongside an announcement from the private healthcare provider that it has carried out nearly 70 cardiac catheterization procedures since restarting the service this past February. This critical interventional tool allows clinicians to both diagnose and clear blocked coronary arteries before they can trigger fatal heart attacks or progressive heart failure.

    Cardiac catheterization works by giving medical teams direct, real-time access to examine the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle. During the procedure, clinicians can also remove dangerous plaque buildup that narrows arteries and is the primary root cause of most major cardiac events. Referrals for the service come through multiple channels: Doctors Hospital’s own primary care network, its emergency department, and external referring physicians across the country.

    Beyond the interventional procedures, the hospital has also expanded its preventative cardiac screening efforts. “We’ve performed just under 70 catheterisations, and we’ve seen several hundred patients go through cardiac calcium score testing,” Dr. Antonio-Collie explained. Notably, a number of patients who showed arterial plaque buildup during routine preventative screening required catheterization even though they had not experienced any telltale symptoms of heart disease.

    This finding underscores a key public health challenge in the country: “The unfortunate thing is a lot of people are walking around with heart disease and have no idea that they have heart disease,” Dr. Antonio-Collie said. Beyond the risk to individual patients, untreated asymptomatic heart disease also creates a massive, avoidable strain on The Bahamas’ entire healthcare system. Without early intervention, patients with unmanaged heart disease face frequent, repeated hospital admissions that consume limited care resources.

    “In terms of the burden on the health system, it’s a very high burden because oftentimes without certain types of intervention, patients are in and out of the hospital very, very frequently because of heart disease,” she added. For individual patients, the long-term impacts are also severe: many require lifelong medication, and progressive heart disease can reduce mobility, robbing people of their ability to work and care for their families as they once did.

    Against this backdrop, Doctors Hospital has centered preventative care as the core of its strategic approach to improving population health outcomes, and early data from chronic disease management programs shows promising results. Sherzel Smith, executive director of the hospital’s Outpatient Centre, shared that 70 percent of patients diagnosed with hypertension achieved lower blood pressure at follow-up visits after following customized treatment plans that included integrated nutrition and lifestyle management support.

    The intervention model has also delivered striking results for patients at risk of type 2 diabetes: 90 percent of patients identified as pre-diabetic no longer fell into that high-risk category after targeted intervention. “That is critical because those are persons who, instead of going down a road of an illness that we know contributes heavily to our morbidity and our mortality, that progression has been reversed through the intervention of our physicians, the support of lifestyle management, targeted medications, and other tools,” Smith explained.

    Smith emphasized that routine annual physical examinations remain the most critical entry point for catching silent chronic conditions early. These regular check-ins give clinicians the chance to detect emerging health issues long before they progress into life-threatening emergencies that require costly, intensive care.

    Looking ahead, Doctors Hospital projects it will conduct roughly 10,000 annual physical examinations this year, as part of a total projected 44,000 to 50,000 outpatient visits across its nine clinic locations spread across New Providence, Grand Bahama, and Exuma. The hospital’s expansive outpatient network offers a full spectrum of services, including primary care, preventative screening, specialist clinics, urgent care, on-site laboratory testing, advanced imaging, and in-house pharmacy services.

    Dennis Deveaux, chief executive officer of Doctors Hospital, noted that overall patient intake has grown by roughly eight percent year over year, a trend that reflects rising public demand for accessible, high-quality outpatient and preventative care. The hospital now expects to hit the upper end of its projection, with up to 50,000 total outpatient visits this year, including between 8,000 and 10,000 annual physicals, which carry an average cost of $370 per exam.

    In addition to serving local residents, the hospital’s outpatient clinics at the Baha Mar resort and Royal Beach Club also cater to the local employee population and international tourists, who account for roughly 2,000 outpatient visits annually.