The facility allows for the electronic exchange of medical information with the aim to improve a patient’s health, and is the first of its kind in the country.

Acting Prime Minister of Saint Lucia, Hon. Philip J. Pierre and Minister for Health, Hon. Alvina Reynolds were both on hand to witness the opening of Victoria Hospital’s (VH) new telemedicine room, Friday.

Telemedicine is the exchange of medical information via electronic communication to improve a patient’s clinical health status.

VH’s telemedicine room is as a result of a partnership between the Sandals Foundation and SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI).

SCI is a non-profit collaboration between the Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, and institutions in six Caribbean islands—Saint Lucia, Barbados, the Bahamas, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Trinidad & Tobago and Jamaica—with the aim to treat children affected by cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean.

The facility, which opened Oct. 10, will facilitate clinical consultations, training and education between medical professionals in the Caribbean and SickKids oncologists and hematologists, for the early identification and treatment of these diseases.

“Our collective goal is to ensure that more Caribbean children are able to survive their diagnosis, and lead healthy, productive lives. One of the ways that will help us achieve this goal is the improved technology and connectivity provided by the new Sandals Foundation Telemedicine Room at the Victoria Hospital,” said Dr. Victor Blanchette, McCaig Magee Family Medical Director for SCI.

Adam Stewart, President of the Sandals Foundation and CEO of Sandals Resorts International, said that he was proud to champion the telemedicine project, because all children should have equal access to healthcare.

The Sandals Foundation commissioned the telemedicine room at the cost of CAD$200,000.

Telemedicine rooms are already in operation in the Bahamas, Barbados, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines, under the SCI initiative.