St. Maarten Private Eye - Health

SMMC Investigation

Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:00:15 -0700

This past week Maria announced that there would be an Inquiry into into the death of Esteban Caraballo while waiting for care at the SMMC. It's not the first time the emergency service at the SMMC has come under fire and promised a report.

I have used SMMC many times over the years and I have always been taken care of, by warm and friendly doctors, nurses and admin staff. However there have been a couple of times when I felt I could and perhaps should have been attended to sooner and was left sitting in the waiting room without anyone even doing a brief examination despite my concern.

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Poisoning the People

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:31:08 -0700

Last week the island was again subjected to clouds of smoke from our dump, I swear it's like one of those candles that you blow out and it relights itself. The only way to really put it out is to wet your fingers and stop the smoking and smoldering, something that the dump management (Windward Roads? I don't know, these companies all change names so often), Mr Buncamper and the fire department just don't seem to get. The dump is still smoking and smoldering today, blaming it on scavengers is an old and very tired excuse that is not only weak, but implies that they are incapable of keeping the dump secure.

SXM Pride's press release warning of the health concerns of dump smoke is accurate, in fact, if you really look into the matter you will not only be very concerned, but also very angry that it keeps on happening. If you really want to know more about what you and your children are breathing every time the dump burns, then read on.

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Red Cross in financial hole.

Mon, 28 Jul 2008 02:06:32 -0700

For most of us, the news that the SXM Red Cross is in financial trouble doesn't really mean a great deal, if you are reading this then most likely you are well off enough to be living in a home you are relatively comfortable with or have somewhere safe to go in a storm. This isn't about you, it is about the people at the lowest level in our society, the ones living in plywood shacks, shacks which were supposed to be eliminated after Luis.

The Red Cross supplements the services the Govt provides at shelters and you would be guessing right if you assume that isn't a great deal, few if any of the shelters even have generator and old, young and sick people could be packed away in dark and dangerous conditions.

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St. Maarten and HIV

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 13:58:35 -0800

The fine bunch of students who put together last years Coastal Cleanup Video have anew one posted about the HIV crisis in SXM. Please go check it out and don't forget to give it a 5 star rating.

YNV Get Motivated HIV/AIDS awareness & testing - Video

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See No Evil, Speak No Evil, Hear No Evil- Ignorance is Bliss?

Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:54:00 -0800

Who gives a damn what we say? Are they listening to us? Do they really care?
Who will they blame next when SXM becomes a country?

It was a pitiful sight to see how our Commissioners behaved before the Dutch? Like the picture above, Roy had his hand over his mouth, Louie had the SXM flag over his eyes and Theo became deaf after he fell in a pothole. The others suffered immediate amnesia.

The headlines below confirm that we are doomed under the Democratic Party.
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Social and Health Care.

Fri, 01 Aug 2008 18:34:31 -0700

A great deal of social care is carried out by NGO's such as Helping Hands, MPO, I Can, White and Yellow Cross and others. The Childrens Rights Advocate report and recommendations in October 2004 gives a fairly clear picture as does the story that follows after.
Also the St. Maarten Medical Center continues to survive, going back and forth between the Intensive Care Unit and the Recovery Ward like a yoyo. There seems to be a crisis every 3 to 6 months and instead of prescribing the right dosage of anti-biotics they use band-aids, never actually curing the problem.