Caribbean Export OUTLOOK 2016

Hospitals are associated with saving lives and

easing the pain of patients. However, little

thought is given to how hospitals emerge in one

location over another; most assume they are

a humanitarian institution surviving on fees

levied, insurance carriers, deep pockets and the

dedication of their staff. But they are far from

being charities, even thoughmany are nonprofit

organisations.

A successful hospital, like any other dynamic

enterprise, requires all the assets needed to build

andmaintain a successful business. And they are

not permitted the luxury of failure, as too many

depend on their sustainability. Can you name

three hospitals that have closed in your lifetime?

Now think about howmany businesses you have

seen shuttered during the same period.

Health City Cayman Islands is a privately

owned enterprise which, once invited to set

up in the Cayman Islands, did its homework

diligently. It identified its market, assembled a

smart partnership, collaborated with the host

community, and provided world-class medical

practitionerswith tens of thousands of procedures

under their belts.

ButHealthCityalsobroughtwithitanXfactorthat

made it stand out in a crowded international field:

theiconicNarayanaHealthfounder,India’sDr.Devi

Shetty – the physician and cardiologist of the late

Mother Teresa–whohas beendubbed “theHenry

Ford of Medicine” by the international media.

Appalled at the number of children dying from

untended heart problems, the future saint

extracted from Dr. Shetty a pledge to work to

ensure any child who needed it could get heart

surgery. So the profits fromHealthCity Cayman

Islands are used to provide indigent childrenwith

free cardiac procedures, including 36 children to

date from neighbouring Haiti.

SohowdidHealthCityidentifyitsmarkettopayfor

thesegeneroushumanitarianactivities?Dr.Chandy

Abraham, CEO and Head of Medical Services at

HealthCity and amember of Britain’s prestigious

Royal College of Surgeons, knewthemarketwell –

traveled people with disposable incomes.

“Themarket is enormous as the so-called boomer

generation inNorthAmerica is in theirmedically

fragile years. They demand efficiency, a pleasant

destination and lots of services, all of which can

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