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Thursday, November 6, 2025
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‘Paradigm shift’: Doctors in 31% same-site patient surge By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net DOCTORS Hospital is poised to this week launch a $1.5m upgrade of its main Shirley Street hospital with patient visits to its non-tertiary care locations having surged by almost 31 percent year-over-year during the 2025 financial period. Dennis Deveaux, the BISXlisted healthcare provider’s chief financial officer, told Tribune Business that it is “using a fine tooth comb” to identify necessary improvements to its 70 year-old main hospital building in a bid to provide patients with “an environment that is aesthetically pleasing” and matches the quality of treatment they receive. Disclosing that the Shirley Street enhancements will take place over the next 12 to 18 months, he added that they will involve “structural upgrades” to the hospital’s
• Signals Bahamians seeking earlier preventative care • Main hospital poised for $1.5m capital improvements • ‘Pushing aggressively’ to finish GB hospital by ‘25 end
DOCTORS HOSPITAL’S COLLINS AVENUE
exterior plus changing out air conditioning HVACS and improvements to windows. Mr Deveaux also told this newspaper that non-hospital visits by patients to clinics and other locations, which had been open in 2024, jumped by 30.8 percent year-overyear during the 12 months to end-January 2025. He hailed this as signalling “a paradigm shift” in Bahamians’ attitudes and approaches to healthcare where persons are now seeking treatments and preventative care before ailments become life threatening and need hospital intervention. Noting that patient visits, or utilisation rates, at Doctors Hospital’s pre-existing locations had significantly exceeded the network’s overall 18 percent growth, which includes facilities open for less than a year, he added that the percentage of persons making repeat visits to the
THE Grand Lucayan and Port Lucaya Marina buyers are working together on plans to create a ‘Port Lucaya Village’ destination that aims to be the “first step in reigniting the stopover tourism product” in Grand Bahama. Dillon Knowles, the Grand Bahama Chamber of Commerce president, confirmed to Tribune Business that Peter Hunt, the Port Lucaya Marketplace owner who is seeking to acquire the marina, Grand Bahama Yacht Club and
other surrounding real estate assets, is “collaborating” with Concord Wilshire, the Grand Lucayan’s purchaser. He confirmed that the two, while each separately owning their respective investments if they close their deals, would effectively combine them to make one overall destination that is “critical to ensuring we get foot traffic” into Freeport and wider Grand Bahama given that Carnival Cruise Line’s passengers are now rarely venturing beyond Celebration Key. “This transaction is his part of the collaboration
with Concord Wilshire on the Grand Lucayan,” Mr Knowles told this newspaper, which earlier this week exclusively revealed Mr Hunt’s plans to acquire the assets currently owned by New Hope Holdings. “Concord Wilshire has got the hotel and golf course, and Peter will have the Marketplace, two marinas and about 50 acres of canal front property. “They’re working it together as part of what they’re calling Port Lucaya Village, but they are two different owners with two different products. They’ll come
Minister says 95% of vacant housing unfit for Bahamians By FAY SIMMONS Tribune Business Reporter jsimmons@tribunemedia.net A CABINET minister yesterday argued that 95 percent of the 25,00-plus vacant dwellings identified in a recent national housing survey are unfit “to meet the housing needs of Bahamian families”. Keith Bell, minister of housing and urban renewal, yesterday pushed back at assertions by Gowon Bowe, Fidelity Bank (Bahamas) chief executive, that such an inventory of available
KEITH BELL residential dwellings means this nation “doesn’t have a housing shortage” if these properties are repurposed and made fit for occupation.
HOMES - See Page B14
Taxi chief: 800 plate recall ‘kind of ironic’ By ANNELIA NIXON Tribune Business Reporter anixon@tribunemedia.net THE Bahamas Taxicab Union’s (BTCU) president yesterday asserted “it’s kind of ironic” that the Government is seeking to recall almost 800 taxi and livery plates when it was responsible for “saturating the market” with new issuances at the start of its term. Tyrone Butler, speaking after the Ministry of Transport and Energy revealed that the Road Traffic Department plans to recall 783 plates that have been inactive for six months or
more come November 30, nevertheless told Tribune Business that the union is open to working with the Government to address the issue as well as the growth of the industry. The 783 inactive plates were identified during an audit of New Providence and Grand Bahama’s taxi and livery plates, and the industry now faces a crackdown to deal with an over-saturated market in which too many drivers are chasing too little business. As of November 30, the Road Traffic comptroller will recall Taxi and livery
DRIVE - See Page B13
Fishermen: $40m stone crab project ‘illadvised lose-lose’ • Fear ‘monopoly’ that will ‘eliminate’ local exporters • Environmental activists argue: ‘Just doesn’t add up’ • Say key test of DPM’s recent sustainability pledge BY NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
together to make the overall project they talked about at the Grand Lucayan Heads of Agreement signing they talked about earlier this year.” Tribune Business reported on Tuesday how Mr Hunt and his business partner, Shmuel Herschkowitz, are “pursuing plans” to acquire the New Hope Holdings assets - including the Port Lucaya Marina and Grand Bahama Yacht Club - currently held by Preben Olsen, the Gonzalez family and Duane Crithfield. “With or without the hotel, this is going to be much better
BAHAMIAN fishermen are voicing fears that a $40m stone crab aquaculture investment is “ill-advised” and a “lose-lose” prospect that could monopolise exports and drive locally-owned businesses out of the market. The National Fisheries Association (NFA), in a statement to Tribune Business, raised concerns that permitting Florida Stone Crabs Inc’s proposed Grand Bahama project to proceed will “effectively eliminate” Bahamian fishermen and local exporters operating in the same sector due to its production capacity and economies of scale. While not opposed to aquaculture, the Association argued that the development proposed for a 1,500-acre site east of Dover Sound on Grand Bahama’s north shore - will not empower Bahamian businesses and also questioned the potential negative environmental impacts if the investment ultimately fails. Activists yesterday told this newspaper that the Florida Stone Crabs Inc proposal will likely prove an early test of whether the Davis administration will uphold the recent declaration by Chester Cooper, deputy prime minister and minister of tourism, investments and aviation, that only environmentally-sound projects will be approved and given the go-ahead. Rashema Ingraham, head of the Bonefish & Tarpon Trust’s Bahamas initiative, speaking ahead of the November 11, 2025, public hearing on Florida Stone Crabs Inc’s certificate of environmental clearance (CEC) application, confirmed that “there are definitely concerns” harboured by environmentalists over the project. The US-based developers are pledging to create 113 full-time jobs, and up to 200300 spin-off posts, once the project reaches full-scale commercial production of native
REVIVAL - See Page B12
CONCERN - See Page B7
HEALTH - See Page B12
GB hotel, marina buyers in Port Lucaya Village tie-up By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net
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