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US Helping BDF Hospital
Fri, July 21, 2017
The BDF medical officers will be operating out of a new hospital in early October. That is when renovations on one portion of the hospital at the Price Barracks should be complete. That section is rundown and has needed serious work for some time. Well, the US Marine Corp will be doing all the repair work. We stopped by today to find out how important this upgrade is to BDF officers as well as surrounding communities.

Major Elfryn Reyes - Force Medical Officer
"The BDF Hospital is mainly an outpatient hospital. We are limited in services so what we do is try to cure what is within our means and whatever we cannot handle we referred to Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital. Due to the maintenance of the hospital over the years or the lack of maintenance I should say, the infrastructure has dilapidated and needed some urgent attention. We were urgently on that half side of the hospital, but moved to this side that the British had left. So it is not in use right now and that's the side the marines are going to work on."

Col. Michael Samarov - US Marine Corp.
"We have actually started some site preparation already. We are going to be replacing the roof and put in some hurricane restraints on it as was mentioned to make sure that this place can serve as an extreme weather shelter. We are going to be working on the inside to replace the plumbing. Do a lot of electrical work, lights, air conditioning and then do painting and things like this."

Major Elfryn Reyes - Force Medical Officer
"As you all know soldiers are considered or should be physically and mentally fit, so we ensure that we do their daily or monthly check ups and whenever they are not feeling well they can report what we refer to as a sick call here at the Force Hospital. In the afternoons we see civilians from in the neighboring communities, so we would have from as far as Sand Hill to Ladyville, Lord's Bank that come here in the afternoons, between 25 to 30 people a day. When they leave with also free medication, we do not charge."

Courtney Weatherburne, reporter
"The BDF officers and surrounding communities will benefit from this upgrade."

Major Elfryn Reyes - Force Medical Officer
"Like I said in my speech the idea is to eventually become the first orthopedic center for the country of Belize, there's not an orthopedic center in Belize and the need arises because the soldiers would suffer a lot of sprains and fractures, because of the patrols they do in the jungle in day and night time. There is space for an operating theatre that we are partnering with another NGO to rehabilitate, so we would be able to offer surgeries and the recovery and physical therapy if needed."

Adrienne Galanek - Charge D'affaires, US Embassy
"This was not an easy project and as Col. Michael Samarov alluded to, to get that approved, getting different funding requirements and intense competition for these funds but the Major realized the importance of providing quality healthcare and facilities, not only for the BDF but for the community as well. This project, like everything that we do and touch at the US Embassy is about people."

The project costs over $240,000 US. There are 3 general practitioners, 2 nurses and 20 paramedics working at the BDF hospital. As you heard, they want to expand their services to Orthopedics.

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