NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Doctors Hospital Chief Financial Officer Dennis Deveaux said yesterday the BISX-listed healthcare provider’s non-COVID-related business was up about 25 percent year-over-year, a reversal of the trend seen at the onset of the pandemic.
Deveaux told Eyewitness News there has been resurgence in healthcare demand.
“Our non-COVID business is up about 25 percent year-over-year. If you pull out COVID testing and care for the critically ill, the demand for services is still growing.” he said.
“The trend has reversed between COVID and non-COVID-related treatment. Elective procedures six months ago are no longer elective.”
Last April, during an address to the Rotary Club of Old Fort, Deveaux noted that the hospital had seen a 55 percent decline in business activity due in large part to the suspension of elective procedures.
Deveaux told Eyewitness News that in the next 30 days, Doctor’s Hospital will plans to launch an elective surgery facility in response to such procedures having previously been delayed by COVID-19 and the hesitancy of some patients to attend facilities they feared to be high risk for contracting the virus.
Deveaux also noted that while the healthcare provider has faced its own challenges with regards to capacity due to the surge in COVID cases, it has been able to respond effectively.
“The key thing really is surge management. While we have our own challenges with capacity, it really is about responding to surges and spikes in presentations of COVID in the emergency room,” said Deveaux.
“Yes, there are challenges, but I think what we are able to do in response to those challenges is leverage some of our additional outpatient facilities to allow for decompression.”
Deveaux further noted that within in the next 60 days, the facility will add three more COVID test sites and engage an additional 50 workers.
“We have no capacity deficits with testing. Over the next 60 days, we will have over 200 people engaged in testing. We have 150 persons at present. We are closing in on half a million COVID tests done to-date and we have no shortage of capacity to expand,” said Deveaux.
Doctors Hospital has two main COVID testing centers — at the Town Centre Mall and Doctors Hospital West (Blake Road. It has also partnered with Atlantis and Baha Mar to provide on-site testing to those properties’ guests and staff.
“We just brought on a site at the Hilton and we are hoping to add another site on Grand Bahama, a site in Exuma and one in the Carmichael area,” Deveaux added.
“Three sites are currently on the drawing board. We are in rapid expansion mode with respect to COVID testing.
“It is our hope that through vaccination, the country can be able to arrest the spread of COVID. However, it would not surprise me if we are approaching one million COVID tests delivered by the end of the year.”
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