RenaissanceRe donates $1m to hospital fund

TUESDAY, JUNE 5: The Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust has benefitted from a massive $1 million donation from reinsurance company RenaissanceRe.

The donation was made as part of BHB’s Why It Matters Campaign which is raising funds to transform King Edward VII Memorial Hospital into a world class facility by 2014. The total raised since the campaign was launched a year ago is $25 million. BHCT is leading the three-year capital campaign with a target of $40 million to put towards the $247 million redevelopment project. The project’s overarching aim is to deliver an enhanced level of hospital care for the benefit of the whole community.

Neill Currie, President and CEO of RenaissanceRe, said: “Access to quality medical care matters to us all and investing in medical infrastructure is critical to our island’s sustainability.

“A project of this scale in a population this small requires the support of everyone who can help. We at RenaissanceRe are delighted to play our part in supporting this important project through this financial contribution, which will ultimately help all Bermudians, island residents and visitors.”

Wendy Augustus, Executive Director of BHCT, added: “We are grateful to RenaissanceRe for its incredible generosity in supporting the redevelopment of the island’s primary health care facility.

“The new hospital will be much more than bricks and mortar, it will stand as a vision of how Bermuda provides hospital care today and for decades to come.

“The response from the international business community, local companies and private individuals so far has been superb, but we still have a long way to go and we need to keep the whole island engaged and focused on the goal ahead.”

The new hospital has been designed with specialist wards offering on-island expertise in order to manage the rising volume of chronic diseases and to reduce the need for overseas care. In addition, the new design incorporates education and wellness units to promote preventative health care measures.

According to BHCT, these initiatives support Bermuda Government’s cost containment strategy for the health care industry where expenditure has been growing at a rate much higher than inflation for many years.

Anyone wishing to make a donation to the cause can do so online at: https://www.bhct.bm/index.php/ways-to-give