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Minister Lee Issues Update On Sick Debate Students

Minister of Health Emil Lee

PHILIPSBURG – On the evening of Friday, February 26, Minister of Health Emil Lee was notified that a group of students involved in the Leeward Islands Debate had become ill Read more

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Lee Investigates Cases Of Youth Falling Ill

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Public Health Emil Lee dispatched a team of persons of the Collective Preventive Services (CPS) under the leadership of Dr. Asin to assess and investigate complaints regarding several young people, who were participating in the Leeward Islands Debate competition, becoming ill during the past 2 days.

Most of these persons were staying at the Maho Reef Resort, but some residents reportedly also fell ill.

The Minister was apprised of the situation on Friday evening, February 26, by President of Parliament Sarah Wescott-Williams, who was at the event.

Lee has already received the first briefing by his Department, and Wescott-Williams has requested that he urgently inform Parliament of the initial findings by letter, and subsequently keep Parliament informed of developments and ongoing investigations.

Lee has also immediately involved and mobilized the Inspectorate of Public Health Read more

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Szv Encourages Staff To Be Leaders Within Health Sector 

PHILIPSBURG– On Friday, February 12, Social and Health Insurances SZV hosted a staff conference themed “Cross the Line” in which local and international speakers, including Minister of Public Health Emil Lee took to the stage and held key note sessions and workshops emphasizing customer excellence, personal development and success strategies.

SZV has made a committed decision to improving the quality of its services and customer service experience by investing in the development of its staff as leaders within the health sector serving country St Read more

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Nature Foundation Assists Vsa With Mosquito Controls

PHILIPSBURG – Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (VSA) Emil Lee approached the Nature Foundation of St. Maarten for advice on sustainable and environmentally friendly measures to reduce disease spreading mosquitos. Director Tadzio Bervoets responded immediately.

In addition to eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, Bervoets came out strongly in support of the lethal ovitraps that Minister Lee promptly ordered for a field trial Read more

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Second Confirmed Case Of Zika

PHILIPSBURG – On Sunday, February 21, a second case of Zika was confirmed on St. Maarten. This case involves a Dutch tourist from the Netherlands who arrived in St. Maarten on February 3 and departed on February 10.

The person was staying at the Dawn Beach Estates residence area. It wasn’t until February 13, three days after arriving in the Netherlands that the patient experienced symptoms. Similar to the first confirmed case, the person had also travelled to a neighboring island for the day prior to being diagnosed.

The first confirmed case concerns a person who was residing in the Saunders area Read more

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Urgent Plenary Session Scheduled For Wednesday About Closure Of Food Establishments

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – The House of Parliament will meet in an urgent plenary public session on February 24th. The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Emil Lee will be present for the session.

The plenary public meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday at 2.00pm in the General Assembly Chamber of the House at Wilhelmina Straat #1 in Philipsburg.

The agenda point is a discussion on the issue of the closure of food establishments; hindrance of inspectors, while granting preferential treatment to some establishments and unfair treatment to other businesses.

This urgent plenary session was requested by Members of Parliament (MPs) Leona Marlin-Romeo, MP Cornelius de Weever and MP F Read more

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Ministry Of Vsa Congratulates New Health Care Professionals

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten –– The Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour Emil Lee and by extension the entire Ministry would like to congratulate Devlin Alexander and Angeli Balani on being sworn in as Health Care Practitioners on St. Maarten.

Alexander took the oath as a Pharmacist’s Assistant and will be working at the Simpson Bay Pharmacy Read more

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Engineer Firm For New Hospital Being Selected

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Recent news headlines have alluded to the perception that bids for the development of the new hospital had already been received. Contrary to that, this process is currently still at the first phase of the bidding process, where engineer firms were presented the opportunity to submit proposals for the development of the terms of reference for interested turn-key developers (design-build and maintain), who will construct a new and sustainable hospital for country St Read more

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Ministry Of Vsa And Auc Sign Collaboration Agreement

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – As part of the Ministries approach to developing partnerships, the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (VSA) signed off on a collaboration agreement with the American University of the Caribbean, School of Medicine (AUC) on February 11.

Although the Ministry has been collaborating with AUC since 2012, this agreement formalizes and enhances the current relationship by creating the VSA-AUC Platform. This platform, will allow continued collaboration among representatives of the university, the ministry, health care institutions and the community for the common good of St Read more

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*** Breaking News *** First Confirmed Zika Case On Sint Maarten

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — Reports in at the Department of Collective Prevention Services (CPS) have indicated that the first case of Zika has been confirmed. At this point in time it cannot be confirmed that the virus was locally transmitted, as the person did travel outside St. Maarten shortly before being tested.

“The focus for the Ministry and community at this time should remain on working together to eradicate breeding sites and to take precautions against mosquito bites Read more

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Szv Receives Bids For Engineer Firm To Develop Terms Of Reference For New National Hospital.

PHILIPSBURG, St. Maarten – In keeping with the principles of openness and transparency, Social and Health Insurances SZV has received four bids for the first phase of the plans to construct a new and sustainable hospital for country St. Maarten.

SZV appointed KPMG to assist in the bidding process where four local and international engineering companies were requested to bid. On Monday, February 15, the bids of Lievense, ICE, Arcadis and Royal HaskoningDHV were accepted for consideration.

Interim Director of SZV Glen Carty thanked Managing Director of KPMG Henk de Zeeuw, for his efforts thus far in assisting with the bidding and development process of the new hospital Read more

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Government Reviewing Consultancies

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten -The government of St. Maarten has reiterated its intention to review all consultancies to government and government-owned companies to ascertain whether the public resources (financial and human) are properly utilized.

Prime Minister William Marlin and Minister Emil Lee reinforced this point during the Council of Ministers Press Briefing on Wednesday, February 10 Read more

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No Reported Cases Of Zika On (Dutch) St. Maarten

PHILIPSBURG-Minister of Health Emil Lee said there are no reports of persons with the Zika virus in St. Maarten. However, he has received reports from within the hospitality sector of persons cancelling their trips to St. Maarten due to the advisories relating to the virus.

“I think the French side has one or two (cases of Zika) and as far as I know these are not cases that were contracted in St Read more

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Minister Lee Strengthens Structural Solutions With French Side Health Care

PHILIPSBURG – Last week Minister Emil Lee initiated a stepped up level of cooperation between the Dutch and French sides of the island with regard to health care.

Left to right: Ramzy Dennaoui, Arnauld Benet, Jim Rosen, Sidiane Laker, Iris Blokpoel, Dr. Louis Jeffrey, Minister Emil Lee, Kees Klarenbeek, Fenna Arnell, Joanne Dekker

“As St Read more

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Inspectorate Of Health Will Continue Inspections

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten –  On behalf of the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development, and Labor (VSA) there are a few misconceptions that need to be clarified. The Inspectors of VSA will continue as normal to conduct their inspections as it pertains to compliance to food safety, however the joint inspections are currently under review by the Council of Ministers.

“As Minister responsible for the safety of the health of the population and the visitors to our country, ensuring restaurants and business that are handling food are in compliance remains a  priority.

Although I do understand the concerns of the business community as it pertains to the negative effect it may have on the economy during the height of our tourist season, compliance is essential toward securing the well-being of our population” said Minister Emil Lee in an invited statement on Tuesday.

In reference to stopping the operations where food was being handled by the Point Restaurant at Sonesta Maho Beach Resort, as of Monday morning the restaurant still remains closed Read more

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Ambulance Dispatchers Participate In Certification And Re-Certification Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatch (Emd)

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten – Minister Emil Lee of Public Health, Social Development & Labor would like to applaud and congratulate Mr. Cylred Richardson, Head of the Ambulance Department for taking the initiative to empower his staff to participate in the certification and recertification of an EMD course.

The constantly evolving Priority Dispatch System (PDS) will help provide the highest standard of care to the community, allowing Emergency Medical Dispatchers to better manage limited resources and increase the accuracy and efficiency of the dispatching process.

Ambulance Department Dispatchers took part in a three-day certification and recertification training course from Monday, February 1, through Wednesday, February 3, 2016 in the Medical Priority Dispatch System™ (MPDS®) to better serve the citizens of St Read more

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Armand Meda: The Fight Against Zika, “….There Are Families In Homes Out There With Situations That Make Them Totally Helpless…..”

PHILIPSBURG, Sint Maarten — In a statement released by Armand Meda, he stated “The World Health Organization recently reported that the Zika Virus has been detected in 23 countries throughout the Americas and the Caribbean.

A scientist from the WHO has also forecast that there could be up to three to four million infections from the Virus over the next year Read more

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