As the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla continues to recover from the devastation wrought by Hurricane Irma, relief workers on a humanitarian mission from the Cayman Islands are providing vital medical support to the island’s health care system.
Health City Cayman Islands staff nurses Mahesh Kumara and Bijin Mohan are part of a relief effort coordinated by the Cayman Islands Government to send supplies, medicines and medical staff to Anguilla. They have been on the island since September 12, working alongside doctors, nurses and emergency medical technicians from the Cayman Island Health Services Authority as well as Anguillan medical staff.
During their time in Anguilla, Kumara and Mohan have been assisting patients at a senior citizens’ home and also working in shifts at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Stoney Ground, Anguilla.
Both men expressed their ongoing willingness to assist in the relief effort and commented on the camaraderie that has developed among the relief staff sent from the Cayman Islands and their counterparts in Anguilla.
Dr. Chandy Abraham, CEO and Medical Director of Health City Cayman Islands, said, “We are pleased to be a part of this humanitarian effort, and are very proud of our team members doing their part to assist the people of Anguilla.”
The medical relief efforts in Anguilla centered first on the critically ill and injured, with one patient being transported to Health City Cayman Islands on the return leg of the chartered Cayman Airways flight which carried the relief personnel and supplies.
One person is known to have died as a result of Hurricane Irma in Anguilla and housing and infrastructure were severely damaged by the storm. Anguillans have since been focused on rebuilding and distributing relief supplies to the most vulnerable in their community.
This past week’s passage of Hurricane Maria about 120 miles south of Anguilla bought some unsettled weather back to the island, with some heavy rain and winds of about 40 miles per hour. However, the relief team from Cayman opted to stay on island through the effects of the storm. The medical personnel spent the day of Hurricane Maria’s closest pass by the island at the hospital, working on shift duties.
As part of the Cayman Islands Government-led humanitarian mission to Anguilla, Health City sent over US$30,000 in medicines to the hurricane-ravaged island. The Health City personnel joined with staff from the Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, Hazard Management and the Department of Environmental Health to form the relief mission.
The relief team from the Cayman Islands was scheduled to remain in Anguilla for two weeks.
