Medical director leaving post at health services

The Health Services Authority of the Cayman Islands is not renewing the contract of its medical director Dr. Greg Hoeksema, who has been in the post for more than four years. 

Dr. Hoeksema’s contract expires on 31 January, according to the HSA, and that will be his last day on the job. No replacement has yet been found. 

According to a statement released by the Health Services Authority: “The HSA and the current medical director recently came to a mutual decision that his contract, which ends on January 31, 2012, will not be renewed.  

“We are continuing the recruitment process to find a new medical director and are currently in discussions in regards to the appointment of an interim acting medical director until the recruitment process is completed.” 

Dr. Hoeksema said he had nothing to add to the statement released by the Health Services Authority. 

The former US Navy doctor has been medical director of the Health Services Authority since late 2007, when he took over from Dr. Tamer Tadros, who had been in the position since 2005. 

During Dr. Hoeksema’s tenure as medical director, the previously loss-making authority made a profit for the first time since it transitioned from a health department to a statutory authority in 2002. The HSA announced in July 2010 that it had made a profit of $2.3 million, despite being owed $12 million in outstanding debts. 

The Health Services Authority has been undergoing a revamp in an effort to become more economically viable, including the introduction of a debt collection agency to chase up unpaid bills and partnering with the government’s insurance company, CINICO, to implement a new payment system for its members called CarePay.  

Health minister Mark Scotland said that the senior management of the HSA would continue to implement changes to the authority following Dr. Hoeksema’s departure.  

“I acknowledge the contributions from Dr. Hoeksema during his tenure, and I also recognise the stellar leadership of CEO Mrs. Yearwood and Board Chairman Mr. Canover Watson,” he said. 

“Under their leadership, HSA will continue the implementation of the Strategic Plan – and the HSA will also continue to grow and develop with my support and that of the Ministry,” the minister said. 

The Strategic Plan is a five-year plan launched by the Health Services Authority Board of Directors in 2010, with four main objectives – to reduce the incidence of diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cancer among HSA patients; to implement evidence-based practice in clinical care; to have collections match operating expenses; and to have at least 90 per cent of the population rate the HSA as excellent for healthcare. 

When Dr. Hoeksema first joined the Health Services Authority, he told the Caymanian Compass: “The reason that I took this job is that it offers an opportunity to improve the whole country’s health system.” 

Prior to moving with his family to Cayman, Dr. Hoeksema, an American, spent 22 years as a doctor and administrator with the US Navy. He served as the civilian equivalent of chief operating officer at the US Naval Hospital in Yokosuka, Japan. He also worked in Hawaii and on the Italian island of La Madellena, as well as deployed several times at sea on aircraft carriers. 

He is the fourth medical director in the Health Services Authority’s 10-year history, following on from Dr. Tadros and Dr. Bryan Heap, as well as Dr. Courtney Cummings who was the acting medical director for 18 months.