CHI commissions $2.1 B Cath Lab

May 15, 2016 News

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-has capacity to do advance procedures
“What we have here is the real McCoy…it is state of the art,” said Minister of Public Health Dr. George Norton of a $2.1 billion Catherisation Laboratory (Cath Lab) which will help to significantly bolster the service offered

by the Caribbean Heart Institute (CHI).
At a simple but very auspicious ceremony, in the eastern compound of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), the state of the art Cath Lab was officially introduced.
According to Minister Norton the new lab is not only the largest but the most advanced of any such laboratory in all of the Caribbean. In fact he revealed that the lab boasts of the most modern cardiac intervention system available to date by the United States General Electric (GE) company.
Even as the Minister disclosed that the new CHI Lab will cater to procedures such as cardiac catherisation and the insertion of cardiac stents, pacemakers, defibrillators and heart valve through the groin,. This, according to him, would allow for a reduction of the need for open-heart surgery.
Minister Norton, however, noted more work will have to be done to make the Cath Lab a fully functional hybrid laboratory capable of doing both open-heart surgery and catheter-base cardiac interventions. And once all of this is done, the Minister assured that once completed “this will once again be the first hybrid lab in all of the Caribbean.”
“This new lab is a remarkable achievement in the health sector and one which will allow us to take cardiac care in Guyana to higher levels,” said the Minister as he pointed out that cardiovascular diseases are the number one cause

of death globally with an estimated 17.5 million people dying in 2012. This state of affairs, the Minister noted, represents 31 per cent of all global deaths.
And according to him, over three quarters of cardiovascular diseases occur in low and middle income countries.
It was against this background, the Minister said, that the government is cognizant of the importance of providing the best quality cardiac care.
“The opening of this new lab will allow us to do just that and I can openly say that this coalition Government is committed to the people of Guyana in trying to advance that quality cardiac care in no uncertain terms,” said Minister Norton.
He said that a vast number of patients suffering from cardiac related conditions will now have at their disposal a facility which uses state of the art technology.
Guyana is therefore well on its way, the Minister added, to realizing the ambitious goal of ensuring that Guyanese are among the healthiest people within the Caribbean and the Americas by the year 2020 as was stated in the coalition government’s manifesto.
CHI made history when it first opened its doors in 2006 as the only cardiac facility in Guyana.
Reflecting on the journey of CHI, founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Gary Stephens, yesterday noted that he often marvels over the fact that some of the projects and achievements in life start with a simple conversation. He also noted that sometimes the best way to achieve goals is to refuse to embrace the how and simply focus on the why.
“Even though over the last few years there have been some dark moments in which I thought that we would never be here, we are here and I think we are all happy for where we are headed,” said Dr Stephens.
And the introduction of the lab could not have come at a better time, Dr Stephens observed as he noted that the realization of the new Cath Lab comes even as Guyana prepares to celebrate 50 years as an independent nation. He regarded the ceremonial opening of the lab yesterday as a “moment of pride”.
“This is a fitting way to celebrate that 50th birthday,” Dr Stephens underscored.
The new Cath Lab is capable of doing multiple cardiac related procedures, cardiac electrophysiology (elucidating, diagnosing and treating the electrical activities of the heart) and coronary as well as cerebral work. With the new Cath Lab, CHI has the ability to tackle fibroids which are abnormal growths that develop in or on a woman’s uterus.
Among the local individuals who have been able to benefit from CHI are business mogul, Mr. Yesu Persaud, Mr. David Yahnn Junior, Mr. Michael Kendall, Mr Surujpaul Singh and Ms Yvonne Benn all of whom were on hand yesterday to share testimonies of the laudable service offered at CHI.
In fact the oldest and the youngest patients operated on at CHI were the individuals tasked with cutting the ceremonial ribbon to declare the new Cath Lab opened. The oldest patient is 74-year-old Delfim Galvao who underwent triple bypass surgery about two years ago. The youngest patient, Keandrea Daniels, now seven-year, underwent multiple procedures when she was just about one-year-old. She suffered from a Ventricular Septal Defect, a hole in the heart which is a common congenital heart defect.
Also present at yesterday’s ceremonial opening was Minister within the Ministry of Public Health, Dr. Karen Cummings, some of the visiting experts who have been giving support to CHI and Chief Executive Officer (Ag) of the GPHC, Mr. Alan Johnson. The ceremony was blessed by the prayers of Bishop Francis Alleyne.

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