Training of Nurses at the Heart of Republic Bank’s support for SickKids-Caribbean Initiative

Barbados, September 26th, 2019 – Supporting the training of paediatric haematology/oncology nurses in Barbados is at the heart of Republic Bank’s support for the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative, a not-for-profit collaboration between the Centre for Global Child Health at The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), the University of the West Indies, Ministries of Health, hospitals and institutions in six Caribbean countries, including Barbados.

The SickKids-Caribbean Initiative aims to build sustainable local capacity to accurately diagnose, treat, and manage paediatric cancers and blood disorders, and is supported under Republic Bank’s Power to Make a Difference (PMAD) corporate social responsibility programme.

When the current five-year phase of PMAD was officially launched in May this year at Republic Bank’s Broad Street Branch, Mr. Leonard Nolasco, Manager, Major Gifts & Strategic Projects SickKids Foundation, highlighted the limited access to health workers with specialized training in paediatric haematology and oncology as one of the gaps identified in an initial needs assessment.

Mr. Nolasco welcomed the partnership, and especially thanked Republic Bank for its support of the aspect of the Programme specifically geared towards the training of nurses.

Republic Bank’s managing Director and CEO, Mr. Anthony Clerk, said the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative fit perfectly within PMAD’s established four-pillar structure, which encompasses: the Power to Care; the Power to Learn; the Power to Help; and the Power to Succeed. He said those pillars are consistently applied across areas of critical concern to Caribbean communities, including health, culture, sports and education.

“We are indeed pleased as a regional banking institution to come on board and support these very worthy objectives in the area of health care for vulnerable Caribbean children. Our support will be targeted at providing training and education for nurses in areas of haematology and oncology, which as I’m sure most are aware, is of critical importance to Barbados and other countries across the Region,” Mr. Clerk said.

Since 2013, healthcare specialists at SickKids in Toronto and their counterparts in the Caribbean have been working together to support the early identification and treatment of children living with cancer and blood disorders in the Caribbean.

SickKids is working in partnership with the University of the West Indies (UWI), Ministries of Health and key hospitals and institutions from the six participating Caribbean countries: The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.