GOVERNOR’S HARBOUR, Eleuthera --- Construction on a new Mini (Community) Hospital in Governor’s Harbour and a state-of-the-art clinic in Rock Sound, Eleuthera, is expected to be “fully underway” within the next 12 months.

The Mini-Hospital will be constructed at a cost of “a little over $10 million” and will cover almost 25,000 square feet. The construction of both facilities will take place under the auspices of the National Insurance Board.

The Mini-Hospital is also expected to be equipped with a Heliport to be used for airlift emergencies in addition to the fixed wing aircraft already in use for that purpose, and an Isolation Room with its separate airflow to help deal with potential infectious diseases cases.

Dr. Baldwin Carey, Consultant, Medical Facilities for the National Insurance Board, said the hospital will be built on 16 acres of land in Palmetto Point and will consist of Examination Rooms, Outpatient and Inpatient Care facilities, X-Ray Rooms, Dental facilities, Laboratories, a Trauma Room and an Isolation Room.

He said the construction of the Trauma and Isolation Rooms, will be critical to the provision of additional healthcare services to the residents of Central Eluethera, as doctors will be able to stabilise trauma cases locally before airlifting those cases to New Providence. The Trauma Room will also to be to “deal with emergency-type situations.”

EXUMA, Bahamas -- Odyssey Aviation Exuma, the company’s newest full-service FBO, has appointed Shervin Penn to the position of Station Manager.  Shervin is a veteran in the hospitality industry having held numerous management positions at the British Colonial Hilton in Nassau, and Grand Isle Resort & Spa in Exuma.  His areas of expertise include Operations, Customer Service and Event Management.

In his new role, Shervin will report to William Holowesko, General Manager of Odyssey Aviation Bahamas, working alongside a strong team committed to maintaining Odyssey’s world-renowned, reliable general aviation services brand.

"I feel privileged to be working with a company of Odyssey’s excellence. I look forward to the new challenges that this will present to me, and to working with the rest of the management team to support Odyssey’s growth," Shervin commented.

"We are delighted to welcome Shervin to the team," said Steven Kelly, President of Odyssey Aviation Bahamas. "We are looking forward to continuing the development of general aviation in the Exumas making it an internationally renowned destination for VIP FBO and handling services. Having someone with Shervin’s experience and knowledge will help us tremendously in delivering a new perspective and direction to our team and to our clients."

Odyssey Aviation Exuma’s new 2,500-square-foot facility, which officially opened February of this year on the southeast side of the field, is the first private terminal at Exuma International. The new facility operates independently from the main terminal with its own customs and immigration clearance area located within the facility. It features a new spacious pilots’ lounge, flight planning room, refreshment bar, passenger lounge, private fuel farm and two acres of adjoining apron for aircraft parking. 24 Hour service is available upon request.

EMERALD BAY, Exuma -- The butler of Governor General Sir Arthur Foulkes, Edwardo Cox was one of 21 butlers celebrating their graduation from a month of training with the Guild of Professional English Butlers at Sandals Emerald Bay this past week.

The training was conducted by the guild’s director Robert Watson at the Sandals property in Exuma where 20  Bahamians  underwent training before joining the  property’s Butlers’ Department.

“Our new butlers have great potential  and they are excited to provide great service to the guest.   With our present butlers fully supporting them, they are on their way to developing successful careers,”     Butler Manager at Sandals Emerald Bay, Mohamed Satar said.

Jeremy Mutton,  General Manager of Sandals Emerald Bay, congratulated the graduates and said that the 20 young people will be a welcomed addition to the 21 other butlers currently on staff.

From tribune242.com

FAMILY Island hoteliers said it was back to business following Hurricane Sandy, with several executives telling Tribune Business their properties had not sustained any major damage.

Sandals Emerald Bay’s general manager told Tribune Business the resort had suffered no structural damage as a result of the storm, and the property had already been cleared of debris.

“We did OK. The entire island fared pretty well. We suffered no structural damage. There was some landscaping, which we took care of, and there is the golf course that will take a few days because of flooding, but other than that we did well,” said Jeremy Mutton.

“The hotel is 100 per cent operational. Right now we are at about 85 per cent occupancy, and later in the week we will be at 100 per cent.”

Adam Showell, co-owner and interim general manager of the Green Turtle Club and Marina in Abaco, told Tribune Business that the resort’s opening had to be postponed because of Sandy, noting that the storm surge had caused some damage to the resort.

“We had a significant storm surge,” he said. “We were supposed to open last Friday, but that got pushed back because of the storm. We had to delay the opening to November 16, so we will be open for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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EXUMA, Bahamas -- Higher education and lifelong learning both have broad ramifications for community development and national progress. This is particularly true for Exuma where The College of The Bahamas operates a Centre for Continuing Education and Extension Services (CEES) in Hooper’s Bay.

Exuma has a growing economy that is primarily bolstered by hospitality and tourism. But evolution is apparent in other sectors and soon there will be a need for highly skilled workers in the health care and allied services sectors now that a community health care facility is under construction in George Town. These are the kinds of national needs that The College has a demonstrated record in meeting, but nonetheless, there is still room for growth.

“We have to direct the energies of The College of The Bahamas to fill the indigenous needs of each island, otherwise it would just be an institution that is out of place. In the case of Exuma there has already been dialogue with the members and leaders of the community to see how we can best serve the community,” said Dr. Earle Cash, Deputy Chair of the College Council, following a recent Council meeting in Exuma.

“With the transition to university status we are trying to do our best to improve the quality and extent of the service that The College provides to these communities,” he added.

ELEUTHERA, Bahamas -- South Eleuthera Emergency Partners, also known as SEEP, in partnership with the Wemyss Bight Community and The Island School, continues with the development of its second Emergency Operation Centre in Wemyss Bight, Eleuthera.

This new site, which was designed with sustainable features including a 30,000 gallon water tank, solar pumps and a composting garden, will drastically reduce the response time for ambulance and fire services to the southern communities.

This will give volunteers a better chance at protecting property and saving lives.

Photo 1: Wemyss Bight Emergency Operations Center is currently up to belt. SEEP is seeking funding to complete the remaining phases of the project.

Photo 2: Schematic rendering of the new Wemyss Bight Emergency Operations Center with vendors and visitors along the front of the building.

ELEUTHERA, Bahamas -- It was more than two and a half years ago when the Tarpum Bay Historical and Heritage Society set out to undertake the restoration of one of the most important buildings in this small quaint waterfront township. It is what has become known as the “Lil Prep.”

Older members of this community remember this space fondly as the place where they had many “firsts” - voted for the first time, went to school for the first time, saw their first black and white movie or attended their first dance.   

Under the leadership of Mr. Cleveland Knowles and Mr. Eugene Carey, the restoration began with a bang as more than 65 spring break volunteers from Clemson University, South Carolina, USA along with local volunteers began the process of stripping the walls of plaster that had become compromised by the fig tree roots that were penetrating from the back.

Mr. Cleveland Knowles who is also the Chairman of the Local Township said that the whole community worked hard to make this happen. “No one on the committee thought the work would be easy” remarked Mr. Knowles. “We knew there was a lot to be done, but we knew that if we all pulled together we could get it done.”