Health City to build $100 million Camana Bay campus

(CMR) Health City Cayman Islands has announced plans to move forward with expanding its facilities with the construction of a $100 million medical campus at Camana Bay to increase patient access and elevate medical and surgical care in the Cayman Islands.

The facility, which will be called Health City Camana Bay, will be located to the south of the recently-expanded Cayman International School, at the intersection of the Esterley Tibbetts Highway and the new Airport Connector Road.

It will provide specialized and complex services at a world-class level and eliminate the need to travel off-island to receive the highest quality care.

On Friday, Premier Alden McLaughlin said the expansion would boost the country's healthcare capacity bringing much-needed specialized services closer to where people live and work.

“This is yet another multimillion-dollar investment in the Cayman Islands that will benefit our people and our economy.  It is, especially in these times, a powerful statement of confidence in our economic future as well as confidence in the Government. This project will be of great benefit to our communities both in terms of the health services it will provide and also with regards to the employment opportunities it will offer,”  he said.

This state-of-the-art medical campus, which will be constructed in partnership with Dart, will become the first hospital in the region to offer bone marrow transplantation and CAR-T Cell therapy.

The advanced oncology department will include Medical oncology, Hemato-oncology, Surgical Oncology, and Radiation Oncology. The hospital will also include a robust multi-specialty program which includes robotic surgery, a neonatal intensive care unit, an emergency pavilion, and critical care.

Shomari Scott, Chief Business Officer at Health City Cayman Islands, said expanding to where the majority of the population lives and works allows for better logistics and treatment for patients, especially when dealing with oncology and palliative care.

“We understand the burden placed on patients who need to travel back and forth to East End for their care. We want and need to make health care easier, more comfortable, and more convenient for our community,” he said

He added that the new investment reflected Health City's unwavering commitment to the community, which it has severed for almost seven years.

Minister of Health Dwayne Seymour said the project was a major step in ensuring all Caymanians and residents, regardless of geography, had access to a sustainable health care system.

“Health City Cayman Islands continues to be an increasingly important health care institution that is helping us achieve our vision to provide affordable, world-class health care for our people. We are pleased to support the proposed medical campus, which will allow us to expand the country’s healthcare security, increase the services offered within the islands, and elevate the facilities and Cayman, both at home and throughout the Caribbean,” he said.

Health City said it is not requesting any additional concessions outside the original agreement with the government. The services the expansion will provide continue to fall within the scope of the previously planned phases.

Dart Chief Executive Officer Mark VanDevelde said the project aligns with Dart’s established track record of successful partnerships investing in innovations in healthcare, education, and infrastructure that benefit the wider community.

The facility is estimated to take 12 to 18 months to complete, contributing to economic stimulation both during construction and post-construction.

Dr. Binoy Chattuparambil, Clinical Director and Senior Cardiac Surgeon at Health City, said the location of the new campus could save lives.

“There are many incidences where time plays a significant role in the outcome of a treatment or even the life of a patient – heart attack, stroke, and polytrauma are typical examples where time is life. Hours, minutes, and seconds matter, so being centrally located will add much benefit to the quality of life and saving of many others,” he said.

“Our neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) will mean far fewer babies will have to travel overseas. Transporting a baby that requires urgent advanced medical care carries significant risk and can have a definitive adverse outcome as time is very precious for these babies,” he said.

Health City also intends to expand to the Sister Islands with the opening of an office in Cayman Brac, providing much-needed accessible specialist healthcare and alleviating patients' need to travel to Grand Cayman for follow- and checkups.

During construction of the new medical campus, Health City Cayman Islands will open a smaller satellite location within Camana Bay, for which it has already earmarked clinical space. This space will be integrated within the larger proposed facility when it is complete.