Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016 - 2017

OUR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE

they received.

be offered by the Caribbean. Medical tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors,” he said.

of organs into the island; the immigration law to support people coming in to work in the hospital; customslawswithsomedutywaiversonequipment and medicines; and laws to enable Health City to sustainably handle its ownwaste outflow. “All of these things really helped with us establishing ourselves here on the island and providing an institution that provides high quality care to this region,” he said. The skilled medical staff with unparalleled clinical and surgical experiencewas able to quickly establish its credibility, and Dr. Abraham said Health City Cayman Islands is now increasingly seen as amodel for US health systems struggling to remain profitable in the face of razor thinmargins and declining reimbursement.

“Completely supportive. Without the active support and valuable engagement of the Cayman Islands Government and the private sector we would not be having this discussion…It’s always about personal relationships and the commitment of the host community. The Cayman Islands leadership quickly recognised the value of our capacity to the people, their communities and the territory as a whole, and acted very efficiently to create an enabling environment for us to provide world class healthcare.” And considering the economic power wielded by the partners, Dr. Abraham said aspects of providing an enabling business environment could only be done by governments.

This explains why the Cayman clinic exhausted so much effort on ensuring the maximum comfort of patients. Unlike other hospitals, Health City has large windows allowing in a lot of natural light, and generous views of the expertly landscaped gardens to boost the morale of patients. “Obviously, we all know happy patients recover much quicker. To make things even better, the Cayman Islands are less than two hours from Miami,” Dr. Abraham said. But he pointed out the catchment area for Health City extends far beyond the “boomers” of North America: “There is a demand for world-class and affordable care in every country. Many of their

citizens enjoyed relaxing recuperative vacations in the Caribbean, so the region should look at those former tourists and invite them back to have their ailments attended to in a region they associate with good things.”

With the Cayman Islands offering sea, sand, sun and skilled surgery, Health City, asserted Dr. Abraham, was able to take the lessons learned in India and apply them to a growing market off the coast of the US

But Dr. Abraham pointed out the catchment area for Health City extends far beyond the “Boomers” of North America: “There is a demand for world class and affordable care in every country.”

For its smart partnership, Health City is a joint venture betweenNarayanaHealth andAscension, two titans of the medical world. Narayana Health is one of India’s largest and the world’s most economical healthcare service providers. Since its inception in 2000 by Dr. Shetty, the NH Group of Hospitals has grown to a healthcare conglomerate with a network of 23 multi-specialty and super-specialty hospitals and 25 primary care centres spread across 32 locations with 6,600 beds. The US-based Ascension is that nation’s largest faith-based and nonprofit health system, providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable.Lastyear,Ascension,with131hospitals, providedUS$1.8billionincareforpersonslivingin poverty and other community benefit programs. So, not only are the two health partners highly successful businesses, they are also both committed to serious humanitarian activities in their regions of operation. Turning to collaboration with the local authorities, Dr. Abrahamwas unequivocal when responding to questions about the official support

mainland.

“An enterprise like Health City had not been launched in the islands before so some laws were modernised to create the enabling environment,” he explained. “Construction of the current 101-bed facility took less than 12 months and cost US$420,000 per bed, about one third the US average of US$1.5 to $2 million, despite the relatively high cost of real estate in the Cayman Islands.” Challenges remained, however, and despite the recruitment of local staff and the purchase of many goods and services in the Cayman Islands, Dr. Abraham said gaps remained. “Obviously we had to import a lot of our specialised equipment but we have also been firmabout the need to use local plant and human resources. This is tertiary healthcare, so we had to recruit and transport our highly skilled doctors and medical staff from abroad.” Dr.Abrahamrecalledlegislativeadjustmentsincluded acapputonnon-economiclossforlitigation;theorgan transplantlawwhichhelpedwiththetransportation

“We have instituted laser-sharp efficiencies in traditional hospital procedures which often date back to the last century. We cut costs by making the best possible use of resources available to us. By so doing, we are able to carry out far more procedures than a normal hospital. There are so many people in need of treatment in India, so the types of efficiencies we have developed are now being duplicated throughout the country. Narayana Health is internationally regarded as one oftheworld’slowestcost,highestqualityhealthcare providers. High volume drives cost savings, and Narayana has taken an aggressive approach to every component in the supply chain, which enables it to provide basic heart surgery for a fraction of the cost in the US. These efficiencies have been transferred toHealth City Cayman Islands.” And the region benefits. “In the Caribbean there are a large number of islands that actually don’t have all services and there is already a large amount of movement to other destinations for things like advanced cardiac care, advanced urology care and advanced orthopedics. And what this has done has actually helped us to provide some of these

67

www.carib-export.com