As part of the ‘SMART’ or Strengthening Health Care Facilities in the Caribbean Project, the upgraded Comfort Bay Senior Citizens’ Home, New Beginnings Transit Home for Children, as well as the Wellness Centres at Vieux Fort, Bexon, Entrepot, La Fargue, Laborie, Monchy, Mongouge, Richfond, Saltibus and Ti Rocher Castries were handed over to the Ministry of Health, Wellness and Elderly Affairs, (and the Ministry of Equity). Retrofitting of the facilities was completed by the contractors AIG Construction Ltd, Lawrence Associates Ltd and Phoenix Construction Limited.

These 12 facilities were part of a group of 15 health care facilities in Saint Lucia retrofitted to become safer, greener, and more resilient to natural disasters and climate change. The other three upgraded health centres already officially handed over to the Government of Saint Lucia were the Wellness Centres at Mon Repos, Desruisseaux and Belle Vue. A full SMART design for the La Clery Wellness Centre was also provided to the Ministry of Health, so celebrations mark a total of 16 health care facilities benefitting from the programme with designs and upgrades to reduce the risk caused by natural hazards and climate change - a major transformation of the national health facility network.

The Monchy Wellness Centre, the venue for this handover, was chosen as the small facility with the highest score for safety and green-ness in the post-retrofit assessments done in 2020. Vieux Fort Wellness Centre received a full upgrade to reach the project ‘gold’ SMART health facility standard. Three facilities received a full SMART retrofit including - Comfort Bay Senior Citizens’s Home and the Transit Home for Children too.

Comfort Bay Senior Citizens’ Home was fully retrofitted to a ‘gold’ project standard to improve its resistance across a range of hazards including strong winds, flooding, earthquakes and fire. Measures to reduce its environmental footprint included water and energy utility use thereby generating operational savings as well as ensuring contingency or back- up arrangements when disasters strike.

The safety upgrades included 2000 gallon fire water storage, a dedicated fire pump, smoke detectors and alarm system, 180m of handrails along corridors, non-skid treatment of walkways, 79 roller shutters to protect existing windows from wind impact damage, 120m of underground cabling, and 12,000 gallons of additional water storage for emergencies. The laundry walls were upgraded to remove the earthquake risk related to the support columns.

The green upgrades provided for more efficient cooling, improved ventilation, improved storm water drainage, use of LED-lighting, and a 25kW photovoltaic system.

The functional upgrades included the labelling of emergency exits throughout the facility and replacing the cabinetry. The washrooms were improved with particular attention to disabled access.

The Transit Home for Children and the Vieux Fort Wellness Centre also received similar gold standard upgrades as part of the ‘SMART’ project, while the 12 Wellness Centres received greening interventions that targeted critical vulnerabilities by providing more reliable water supplies and back-up power as well as ensuring safer electrical systems.

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, pharmacy and reception areas were fitted with sneeze guards under the project.

The project is very pleased to highlight with the support of the Ministry of Health and the Government of Saint Lucia all the facilities’ contingency and conservations plans have been updated and some further major works like the installation of a new retaining wall along the main road (Desruisseaux), new fencing and improved drainage on the entire perimeter (Richfond) and a new roadway and drainage adjacent the property (Bexon) were done.

Recently the project completed a second round of maintenance training with critical staff and provided essential tools to help staff upkeep the facilities and the assets handed over under this project.

The £46.3m Strengthening Health Facilities in the Caribbean (SMART Hospital) project is implemented in seven countries: Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. The project is funded by UKAid through its Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office in the Caribbean and implemented by PAHO in close collaboration with the Ministries of Health of the selected countries.

Dr. Amalia Del Riego, PAHO/WHO Representative for Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean stated, “This is a very important day for PAHO/WHO and the United Kingdom as we hand-over fifteen health care facilities across the country, including this ‘SMART facility’, the Monchy Wellness Centre. Since 2015, PAHO/WHO has been implementing this UKaid project in St Lucia in collaboration with the Ministry of Health, which reinforces that sustainability of health facilities must be enhanced to ensure continued service delivery immediately after the impact of hazards, such as hurricanes, when communities need healthcare most. She continued, “the technical cooperation provided by PAHO/WHO is integrally linked to the disaster risk reduction priorities of the Americas and St Lucia’s Climate Change Policy Framework which will enshrine ’SMART’ standards in the new construction and retrofitting of health facilities. In summary, safe + green + maintained = SMART”.

Lesley Saunderson, the Resident British Commissioner in Saint Lucia told the participants: “I am delighted to be here for the handover of these upgraded critical health facilities and see their transformation. The UK is proud to be a partner in supporting St Lucia’s efforts to reduce disaster vulnerability of vital public buildings and boost its climate resilience. It has also provided a helpful platform for risk reduction planning within the health sector. COVID -19 has further highlighted the importance of disaster preparedness and contingency measures at health facilities for staff and patients.  Sustainability is a key principle in development, so I am pleased that the maintenance courses were recently concluded.  This will give staff the knowledge and skills so that these facilities and services continue to deliver effectively for the people of Saint Lucia”.