Sint maarten. Minister Lake backs expansion of SMMC

Minister Public Housing, Spatial Development, Environment and Infrastructure (Ministry VROMI) Minister Hon. Maurice Lake on Sunday said he is fully behind the expansion of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC).

SMMC he pointed out should be up there with the harbor and airport which are seen as beacons of the country’s progress to date.

Minister Lake who visited SMMC Open House on Saturday commends staff and management for doing a fantastic job in organizing the event for the public to display and showcase to the community what SMMC has to offer.

“We have to give them credit for the sacrifice and hard work they put in on a daily basis, 24/7 with the limited resources that they have,” Minister Lake said on Sunday.

Minister Lake said that once the SMMC Board and Management are ready with their expansion plans, his Ministry will be ready to assist them with the necessary permits to get the expansion underway.

“The health of a nation is the key to socio-economic success of a country.  You need a hospital that has the facilities to take care of its people.  SMMC has been doing that, and before that you had the St. Rose Hospital on Front Street.

“SMMC has reached the point where it’s bursting from its seams and needs to expand and further grow. Our country has grown by leaps and bounds.  We have a vibrant tourism sector with over two million visitors, but our medical facility has not grown.

“The health of the people is a primary concern to me as a Minister.  I can recall visiting the open house held by SMMC last year October as a private citizen/community activist.  At that time I said SMMC is on the right track for success in providing the best health care for our people.  I also stated back then that I am looking forward to see government support for the much needed expansion plan for our own hospital.

“I wrote many opinionated pieces in our daily papers in the past about how Government needs to support SMMC’s expansion plans.

“On Saturday, October 2013, I visited SMMC open house in the capacity as a Minister of this country.  I am now one of the seven in the driver’s seat, and SMMC staff and management can count on my support for doing what needs to be done to see our own home-grown medical center expanded,” Minister Hon. Maurice Lake said on Sunday.

Minister Lake added that country Sint Maarten moving forward is based on getting back to basics. “If the country is to continue to progress, it must have a healthy population.  Without good health there is no wealth.  Our medical center is an institution that is part and parcel of the foundation that this country is built upon. 

“This foundation also includes your port and airport among other locally home-grown institutions. We must give it what’s due to it and I will do what I have to do to see our SMMC and its staff move forward together.  Just recently Government allocated land to our locally home-grown St. Maarten Laboratory Services. 

“Our lab will build their own facility in the vicinity of SMMC therefore creating a little health city park.  We have all heard of technological parks, why not a health city park where we offer various medical services to the neighboring islands?  It can be done,” Minister Hon. Maurice Lake said on Sunday.