NASSAU, Bahamas – Acknowledging that certain illnesses like infectious diseases cross borders, Florida’s Secretary of Health Dr. M. Rony François, visited The Bahamas to form partnerships with local health officials to fight these threats.
Dr. Francois was accompanied by Ms. Lillian Rivera, Administrator of the Miami Dade County Health Department.
“We have come to The Bahamas to visit our neighbor. This was a visit to get acquainted with the health officials in The Bahamas,” Dr. François said after a tour of several wards of the Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH) on Wednesday, July 26.
Added Ms. Rivera: “I am here to support Dr. François efforts as your neighbor in Miami Dade County I want to make myself available.
“I want to be known on a personal basis to all these lovely individuals here in the community so that you can call me when you need me or I could call them when I need them.
“There is a lot to learn from each other and having that personal relationship is very important, and you don’t do that in the middle of a crisis. You try to do that ahead of time so we could learn and we could also help each other in different health initiatives.”
Other members of Dr. Francois’ delegation were Dr. François Mr. Doc Kokol, Communications Director for the Florida Department of Health; Mr. Greg Floyd, political officer, U.S. Embassy; Mr. David Lewis, U.S. Embassy Intern and Katherine Stewart-Gibson, Public Affairs specialist at the U.S. Embassy.
The tour was led by Dr. Perry Gomez, Bahamas National AIDS Program Director; Mrs. Elma Garraway, Permanent Secretary for the Ministry of Health (MOH) and Ms. Mary Johnson, Director of Nursing.
Dr. François visited the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, the infectious disease wards – the Carey-Newbold Ward, the Sealy Ward and then the HIV/AIDS Speciality Clinics for adults and children.
In the neonatal department, where several premature babies are present, Dr. Gwendolyn McDuggan, Pediatric Consultant, answered several questions concerning that ward and Marva P. Jervis, Research Coordinator, acted as tour guide for the HIV/AIDS Specialty Clinics for adults and children
Commending the medical staff, Dr. François said, “You have a phenomenal staff here and that’s the strength in any country, in any hospital – it’s the staff, the folks in the trenches who give that competent and compassionate care to every citizen that walks through the door. It’s beautiful to see.”
Dr. François was appointed as Florida’s Secretary of Health by Gov. Jeb Bush on September 15, 2005. In his post, he leads a state agency with more than 16,000 employees state-wide.
In his role as the State Health Officer and as the first Haitian-American to lead Florida’s Department of Health, Dr. François intends to carry out the noble mission of promoting and protecting the health of all Floridians by encouraging preventative strategies as an integral part of healthcare.
