SNEAKY SNAAACKIES All under$3 KIES All under$3 CheeseburgerHamburgerChicken Jr.Chicken NuggetsFrench Toast Sticks cayman compass Your most trusted news source Established 1965 $1 | Funding local journalism | Weekly, 3-9 November 2023 Mega boxing event set for year end Page 28 Pickleball complex plans multi- sport expansion Page 29 Two guilty of manslaughter in gambling den shooting Page 10 Epidemic of obesity: 7 in 10 overweight Page 6 Sports tourism sponsorship controversy Pages 18-20 Off the grey list Removal marks milestone in protecting vital financial services industry Page 5 SPORTSMatinees (matinee price before 6pm) • Seniors $9.00 (Mon-Fri before 6pm) Additional charges apply per 3D/VIP tickets 640-FILM (640-3456) Cayman Cinema@cbcinema6cbcinema6 SATURDAY NIGHT: For your viewing pleasure, minors under the age of 18 will not be admitted to any lm starting after 6pm, unless accompanied by their parent. 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Compass Centre, Shedden Road, George Town, Cayman Islands SEND US YOUR VIEWS OR NEWS: P.O. Box 1365 Grand Cayman, KY1-1108 Cayman Islands Telephone: (345) 815-0095 • Email: newsdesk@compassmedia.ky ADVERTISE WITH US: T: (345) 949-5111 • E: sales@compassmedia.ky • W: caymancompass.com weather Friday Forecast FORECAST Expected heavy scattered thunderstorms SEA STATE Rough with a wave height of 4 to 6 feet. Small craft should exercise caution over open water WINDS Northeast at 15 to 20 knots with higher gusts. 87°F HIGH 75°F LOW NEWS EDITOR CAROLINE JAMES ISSUES EDITOR JAMES WHITTAKER HEAD OF SALES CHERYL BIRCHGILLIES news in brief Kaibo owner applies to dredge sand by docks in marine reserve The owner of Kaibo Beach Bar and Grill on Cayman Kai has applied for permission to dredge sand under and around the property’s two docks in a protected marine reserve. Part of the larger dock and the entirety of the smaller one are currently unusable because sand has shifted along the shoreline and settled below the structures. The applicant suggested that dredging 410 cubic yards of sand from 3,693 square feet of Crown- owned, largely manmade beach and seafl oor will create better access for boats. In the Department of Environment’s review of the project proposal, which was published on 27 Oct., it said 742 square feet of seagrass and algae will be destroyed by the dredging. It recommended Cabinet approve the application only with certain mitigating conditions to protect the environment. The Cayman Kai peninsula that reaches into North Sound is substantially man-modifi ed, having been created on a spit of mangrove habitat during 1970s land reclamation projects. New health hub planned for Camana Bay Dart plans to build and open a new health and wellness centre in Camana Bay by 2026. The company, which announced the plans at last week’s Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference, says it intends to construct a three-storey, 60,000-square-foot, purpose- built structure on the south side of Camana Bay, near the Health City medical campus, which broke ground last year. A planning permission application is expected to be submitted to the Planning Department in the coming weeks, according to the company. In a statement, Dart noted that the Centre for Health and Wellness would be “ideally situated” off the new Airport Connector Road and the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, within walking distance of the Camana Bay Town Centre, the new $100 million Health City hospital and its adjoining Gene Thompson Radiotherapy Centre. Dart says this will make Camana Bay a new medical hub in Cayman. The plan is for healthcare professionals, from general medical practitioners and specialists to those offering allied services like chiropractors, physiotherapists and yoga instructors, to work out of the proposed centre. Minimum wage report now with government The report recommending Cayman’s new minimum wage has been delivered to government for review and further action. A Labour Ministry spokesperson confi rmed that the Minimum Wage Review Committee handed over its report last week, completing months of consultations and deliberations on the long-awaited wage adjustment. Now that the report has been received, it will be presented to Cabinet for review and a decision on the recommendations. “The next step is for a Cabinet Paper to be fi nalised so it can be placed on the agenda for Cabinet to discuss. Once this happens it will be made public. The digital document will be placed on the Ministry and Government website for public viewing,” the ministry said. The review of Cayman’s minimum wage, which currently stands at $6 an hour, commenced earlier this year. Police release name of man found dead in George Town Harbour The man who was found dead in the water off George Town on 22 Oct. has been confi rmed as 27-year-old Raheem Tyrike Barrett, a Jamaican national residing in Cayman. Members of the Cayman Islands Fire Service recovered Barrett’s body early on Sunday morning, 22 Oct. Port Authority staff had alerted emergency services to a possible person in distress in the harbour shortly before 11:15pm the evening before. Barrett was unresponsive when taken from the water and was subsequently pronounced dead at Cayman Islands Hospital. The cause of his death has not yet been confi rmed. Delta and Southwest ramp up routes to Cayman Cayman’s post-pandemic travel rebound continues apace, with several new routes to the island soon on offer. Delta Air Lines will launch a new fl ight to Grand Cayman for the winter season. Departing from Minneapolis-St. Paul, the fl ight will operate weekly on Saturdays from 17 Feb. to 6 April 2024. The fl ight is the second from Minnesota, joining low-cost carrier Sun Country Airlines, which launched service to Grand Cayman in December 2022. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines will shift its route from Florida in the new year. The carrier announced plans for a daily fl ight from Orlando, subject to government approval. The service is slated to begin 4 June 2024. The launch of the Orlando route however, will mean the end of service from Fort Lauderdale. In addition, Southwest also confi rmed plans for the relaunch of its Baltimore route. The weekly Saturday fl ight will offer return service from the Baltimore/Washington International Airport in Maryland. Service is scheduled to begin 8 June 2024. Conch and whelk season opens with DoE warning Conch and whelk season is offi cially open and the Department of Environment has warned the community against breaking the legal take limits. The season runs from 1 Nov. until 30 April. The daily catch limit is fi ve conch per person or a maximum 10 conch per boat of two or more persons. “In any one day, no one person may take or permit another person to take, purchase, receive, offer for sale, exchange or donation, or possess more than fi ve conch from Cayman waters. Only queen conch may be taken,” the department said in a statement on 31 Oct. The daily catch limit for whelks is 2½ gallons in the shell or 2½ pounds of processed whelks per person per day. Anyone caught poaching conch may face fi nes up to $500,000 or one year in prison. An application has been submitted for permission to dredge sand under and around Kaibo Beach Bar and Grill's two docks in a protected marine reserve in Cayman Kai. - Photo: File cayman compass 2 N news WEEKLY, 3 9 NOVEMBER 2023cayman compass 3 WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 20231234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 1234567 89 101112 13 1415 16 171819 20 212223 2425 ACROSS 1 Nuptials (7) 5 Mediterranean island country (5) 8 Encounter by chance (3,6) 9 Hard pull (3) 10 Religious denomination (4) 12 A fraud (8) 14 Toxin (6) 15 Part of the eye (6) 17 Aspiration (8) 18 Remaining (4) 21 Excessively (3) 22 Involved with what’s going on (2,3,4) 24 Light narrow boat (5) 25 Generally reckoned (7) DOWN 1 Factory (5) 2 Put on (3) 3 Move by small degrees (4) 4 Pessimistic (6) 5 Use of wrong name (8) 6 Take no immediate action (3,2,4) 7 North African republic (7) 11 Abandon untenable argument (5,4) 13 Feeling remorse (8) 14 A synthetic polymer (7) 16 Linger idly (6) 19 Faint-hearted (5) 20 Furtive look (4) 23 Quick understanding (3) The Compass Crossword Puzzle The Compass universal kakuro Puzzle 17465 The numbers in the black cells are clues. Numbers above the slash are across clues. Number below the slash are down clues. The goal is to enter digits 1 - 9 in the white cells to add up to the number clues. You cannot enter any digit more than once when adding up to clue. TODAY'S SOLUTIONS Puzzle 17465 ACROSS: 1 Wedding, 5 Malta, 8 Run across, 9 Tug, 10 Sect, 12 Impostor, 14 Poison, 15 Retina, 17 Ambition, 18 Left, 21 Too, 22 In the swim, 24 Canoe, 25 Reputed. DOWN: 1 Works, 2 Don, 3 Inch, 4 Gloomy, 5 Misnomer, 6 Let it ride, 7 Algeria, 11 Climb down, 13 Contrite, 14 Plastic, 16 Loiter, 19 Timid, 20 Peep, 23 Wit. What they’re saying Online Opinion: Is our education system offering value for money? In a word, NO! But, of course, there is no proper system in place to work! No matter how poorly a child does, they have to keep being promoted to the next class. No help; every assessment is rubber- stamped and claims they can manage! It’s bureaucratic nonsense that is disenfranchising Caymanian children of a proper education. Lilly Jane COVID booster delivery hit by UK supply delay With a billion-dollar-plus budget, isn’t it time we sourced our own rather than continue to rely on the hard-pressed British taxpayer?. Trusty2man D. Call it what it is… This is a failure to protect the people of Cayman from COVID. Those who are immune compromised, planning travel and everyone else on the islands are now at a higher level of risk of COVID because the failure of the Ministry of Health to acquire vaccines. Aaron H. 30% more speeding tickets issued A major speeding hotspot is Frank Sound Road, which has little to no police presence ever. It’s a very dangerous road for residents, and there’s no sensible reason why it should be a 50 mph zone. As a high-density residential area, the speed limit should be lowered and there should be more police presence to catch speeders, as well as persons who are overtaking multiple cars at once. Charles D. B. LGBTQ+ group Colours Caribbean has a new president [Em DeCou is an] amazing Caymanian leader who will serve marginalized communities across the Caribbean well! Katlen Bush Congrats, Em! Wonderful news! Exciting to see this role added to your dynamic portfolio. Great things ahead. Judy Singh Hurlston CUC’s net earnings increase by 34% Everyone realises that some of the earnings has to go straight back into the infrastructure right? If they don’t make money, they cannot afford to keep the grid running. There is a difference between earnings and profits/ losses on the balance sheet. Regina Ecclefield I’m pretty sure that comes out of their expenses, not their profits, but I could be wrong. They do give a lot back to the community though. And employ many Caymanians etc. Hollie Whitelocke [I] suggest you read the 2008 auditor general’s report on CUC to see what happens when you let them spend money on infrastructure. No need to take anyone’s opinion on this point. CUC can make money and keep the grid running without using a business model where increases to their profits are predicated largely on increased electricity usage and costs to consumers. See Hawaii utility HECO (Performance Based Regulation) business model. They don’t want to change to that because being a monopoly and having ‘control’ is preferred; no monopoly ever willingly gave up its monopoly. If you want it, you have to take it from them, the government has leverage to do it if they choose to exercise it. If they do, Cayman will be better for it and eventually so will CUC, despite their objections. James Whittaker GreenTech Group If this was owned by the government as the Cayman Islands utility company rather than a for-profit company, the profit could go back into the community and a different share structure to allow for everyone to buy shares in the new entity. Sheridan Robinson After all those huge bills that they put on everybody in the summer, what else to expect but large profits. Tanya Edwards Kaibo owner applies to dredge sand by docks in marine reserve Wouldn’t it make far more sense to not approve the removal of sand and shore and instead allow him to extend his dock out? If sand is naturally filling in along there, I would say that’s Mother Nature saying how she wants the sand. Quit fighting it and stop destroying the natural evolving shoreline. Invest in an additional dock instead of heavy equipment pulling out sand. Seems like common sense and a far easier solution. Brian H. Is this for real? This shouldn’t take much discussion but then, these things never do and then [they are] granted. Darlene Glidden $1.2 billion infrastructure wish list includes roads, schools and cargo port Relocation of the port would be huge for development of George Town! You could really develop a beautiful, clean waterfront experience to attract new residents. John C. Ileann Powery, Miss Universe Cayman Islands, pictured before departing from Owen Roberts International Airport, is now in El Salvador to take part in the 72nd Miss Universe pageant to be held on 18 Nov. at which 90 women will be competing. The 25-year-old entrepreneur and professional volleyball athlete from West Bay earned the Miss Universe Cayman Islands crown on 2 Sept., beating out four other contestants for the title. “I feel so honored and blessed to have the privilege of representing the Cayman Islands on the world stage,” said Powery, in a press release. - Photo: Flip Trip Visuals Taking flight pic of the week cayman compass 4 news N news WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023JAMES WHITTAKER jwhittaker@compassmedia.ky Coming off the ‘grey list’ was a critical step that will help safeguard the Cayman Islands government’s ability to fund the running of the jurisdiction and meet the needs of its people, according to Financial Services Minister André Ebanks. He was speaking in the wake of last week’s decision from the global Financial Action Task Force to remove Cayman from a watch list of countries under increased monitoring for not doing enough to fight money laundering and terror financing. The decision is a major win, not just for the financial services sector, but also for the country as a whole. Fees from the industry fund up to half of the billion-dollar annual expenditure of the Cayman Islands government, according to some estimates. Ebanks, in an interview with the Compass this week, said a prolonged period on the grey list or, in the worst-case scenario, being blacklisted as a rogue country, would have had serious ramifications for the reputation of Cayman as a credible place to do business. Reduced international financial services business could have seriously impacted the government’s bottom line, he said. “That’s less money that can go from the country’s primary economic driver into other areas in the country, which will feed into healthcare, social development and education.” Conversely, he said, Cayman had enhanced its reputation by seriously engaging with the inspection process, introducing a raft of new legislation and investigatory bodies to ensure it was doing its part to fight the flow of dirty money around the global financial system. He believes the process, and the dialogue it has opened up, has been worth it and Cayman emerges from the shadow of the grey list with an improved international standing. “For the man on the street, our main economic engine has been given a boost to try to generate even greater transactions, greater reputational brand across the country, to hopefully generate greater revenue, which can then fall into the areas that affect your pocket and your livelihood.” Likening it to a household, he said financial services was the country’s main “breadwinner” and it was vital to protect that status in order to fund all the costs of running the home. Staying off the list Ebanks, along with his predecessors in the role, Sir Alden McLaughlin and Attorney General Samuel Bulgin, has been the key political leader in driving a massive national effort to implement new legislation, create new investigatory bodies and bring in new standards to regulate and monitor the movement of money through Cayman. He said last week’s decision was a time to “be thankful”, but also to focus on the new vision of ensuring Cayman remains off the grey list and out of the crosshairs of the international community. A new round of evaluations and inspections is scheduled to begin next year. Cayman expects to be re- assessed in 2026 and it is likely that the goalposts could shift again in terms of the expectations for high profile financial jurisdictions. The minister, who made a side trip to Brussels to represent Cayman at the European Union tax symposium during last week’s visit to Paris for the FATF plenary, believes active engagement with global bodies is the best way for the islands to maintain and protect their reputation. He said Cayman is well placed to anticipate future requirements and evolve its financial crime-fighting infrastructure to ensure continued compliance. He believes the global task force, which sent a team to Grand Cayman for an inspection in September, also now has a better understanding of the ‘breadth and sophistication’ of the sector here. Protecting our slice of the fence He accepts, however, that the FATF process identified genuine weaknesses in Cayman’s infrastructure and that their assessments of the risk in context for Cayman are broadly accurate. As a leader in investment funds, structured finance products, insurance and, to some extent, reinsurance, he said Cayman entities are involved in major transactions which carry a level of responsibility to the rest of the world. “It’s easy to, sort of, take a look back and say, ‘Are they picking on this country, are they picking on that country?’ but when you’re actually in the room, you walk away with the sense... that they’re trying to protect a global system and you have a responsibility to make sure your slice of the fence is strong. “In our case, if you look at the value of financial services, and the amount and the size and the pedigree of the transactions that we are involved with, yes, we bear responsibility to ensure that our fences are strong.” He believes political engagement with the global community, as well as serious engagement with the FATF recommendations, are slowly changing the global impression of the Cayman Islands. “They see this is a serious jurisdiction, that we’ve taken this on the chin, we have stood up and said, ‘OK, we’ve got a few screws that we need to tighten, and we’ll get on with it.” Pressure for convictions a challenge One area that remains a challenge and a negotiating point is the pressure, as part of the FATF standards, to show evidence of trials and ‘dissuasive sanctions’ in complex money-laundering cases. The Cayman Islands, in response to the task force recommendations, beefed up its investigatory powers, launching a new Bureau of Financial Investigations focusing on complex international cases, among other measures. But the judiciary is necessarily independent and no politician can sincerely promise to deliver convictions and sentences for crimes yet to be identified. Yet this is a specific requirement of the global task force and was the last requirement that Cayman was able to fill. The multi-week corruption trial of former Cayman Islands Football Association executives Canover Watson and Bruce Blake provided some evidence to inspectors of recent competence in taking such investigations through the process from charging to sentencing. Ebanks is confident the work of the bureau will lead to more relevant charges and trials in future. But he cautions that many of the precedent crimes in money- laundering cases occur outside the jurisdiction, and it is difficult to guarantee trials will take place that fit the FATF profile. Industry advocates have painted the Cayman Islands as a ‘middle man’ jurisdiction, arguing that despite the high volume of business that takes place here, it is unlikely that ‘bad actors’ in money- laundering cases would be actually present in the jurisdiction in many instances. Ebanks acknowledges the argument. But he is not counting on the requirement being removed. “I think it will continue to be a challenge. I would never wish for crime to happen here, under any circumstance. So I’m fine with it not happening. But it does still mean that it’s a box, it’s an item that has to be satisfied.” Advocacy remains key He believes the same problem exists for other jurisdictions - particularly smaller countries - and collective advocacy with the task force could be persuasive. In the interim, he believes doing the right kind of investigatory work is the best way to ensure Cayman can try to meet that obligation. Continuing advocacy on the world stage, even with the grey list threat removed for the time being, is another priority. “You’re never going to convince anybody, if you’re just going to sit back and say, ‘It’ll be alright’. “Our approach in this administration is be proactive, speak when you don’t even have to speak, whether you’re on a list or not. The more that I see us taking that approach, the more I see people truly understanding the country, the composition of its financial services and, importantly, how it is not a threat to them.” Financial Services Minister André Ebanks, second from right, with the Cayman Islands delegation at the FATF Plenary meeting in Paris, where Cayman was informed it had been removed from the anti-money laundering 'grey list'. - Photo: Supplied Grey list success safeguards Cayman’s future “Our main economic engine has been given a boost to try to generate even greater transactions, greater reputational brand across the country.” Financial Services Minister André Ebanks. cayman compass 5 news N news WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky Seven in 10 adults in Cayman are overweight and one-third are obese, according to the preliminary findings of the STEPS national health survey. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent said the survey results, which showed 69.6% of Cayman adults are above a healthy weight, indicated an “epidemic of obesity” that was taking a costly toll – both in terms of healthcare financing and quality of life. Similar results were also found in the last STEPS survey, in 2012 – which, Gent told attendees at the annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference at The Ritz-Carlton on Thursday evening, meant obesity was intergenerational and was being accepted as the norm locally. In the 2012 survey, 70.6% of people were found to be overweight, and 37% were obese. National epidemiologist in the Ministry of Health, Rachel Corbett, who presented some of the preliminary results of the latest survey at the conference, explained that a higher proportion of men were overweight than women, but a higher number of women were obese than men. The survey, carried out between June and August this year, involved 3,300 households of people aged between 18 and 69, with the aim to gather information about the prevalence of non- communicable diseases and their associated risk factors, such as weight issues, alcohol and tobacco usage, poor diet or lack of exercise. Addressing attendees on Thursday, Corbett said collating national data was still a “huge challenge” for Cayman, “due to our hybrid of public and private healthcare”. The importance of gathering and analysing the type of data collected in the survey was highlighted by Health Minister Sabrina Turner, who spoke at the opening of the conference. She said it was vital to help inform national health strategies in Cayman. The 14th annual National Healthcare Conference, which ran from Thursday evening to Saturday afternoon, brought together hundreds of medical professional and others in associated fields, as well as members of the public, to explore various elements of healthcare. The theme of this year’s conference was ‘Bridging the Gap Between Patient and Practitioner - Pathways to Optimal Health’. 7.7% of population has diabetes As part of the STEPS survey, participants underwent blood glucose and blood pressure checks. This resulted in a finding of 7.7% of participants with high blood sugar readings. Corbett said one in 13 people surveyed were diagnosed with diabetes and were on medication for the disease; 4.9%, or one in 20, were diagnosed with diabetes but were not on medication; and 1.7%, or one in 59 people, had diabetes but, prior to the survey checks, had been undiagnosed. This meant, she elaborated, that between 3,300 and 5,500 people in Cayman were on medication for diabetes; between 1,800 and 3,500 had diabetes but were not on medication for it; and between 450 and 1,400 were undiagnosed. She stressed that the statistics she had shared were preliminary results, and may change somewhat when finalised. “There is a wealth of data that we now have that we can use to inform our policies moving forward, so keep an eye out for that coming out next year,” she said. Accepting obesity as ‘the norm’ Chief Medical Officer Gent, who spoke after Corbett, said the prevalence of obesity in Cayman had not changed much over the past decade, and said he was concerned, as an epidemiologist, that during that period, only a third of the population had been at a healthy weight. “It tells me that we have become used to obesity being the norm and we have accepted it as an established fact of life,” he said. He added, “It also tells me this is not just a generational problem, but [there are] multigenerational cohorts of people with significantly unhealthy weight.” The “growing burden of disease and disability” from obesity was “destroying the quality and quantity of life for too many Caymanians and their families”, Gent said. Pointing out that Cayman is not alone in facing this problem, as it was becoming a worldwide issue, he noted that in 1990, 4.5% of deaths internationally were attributed to obesity. By 2020, that had reached 8%; and is much higher in some countries, including Cayman, he said. “Few other countries can claim that two-thirds of their populations are at unhealthy weights and one-third of their population are dangerously overweight, and that this has been the norm for so many years – although, in fairness, many other countries are catching us up,” he said. Gent described Cayman as being “hand in hand with the United States” in terms of obesity rates. According to the US Centers for Disease Control, in 2020, the prevalence of obesity was 41.9%, and diabetes was 14.8%, among adults aged 20 and over. The chief medical officer said he suspected that one of the reasons Cayman’s obesity levels were not too dissimilar to the US was because the islands had imported that country’s processed food diet and eating habits. “When a child, asked what a traditional Caymanian diet is, answers Burger King and KFC, then we are in very great trouble,” Gent said. Changing lifestyle an unpopular option Another element adopted from the US was the “medicalisation” of weight issues, he told the audience, with people in Cayman often turning to pharmaceutical solutions or surgical interventions to lose weight. “Changing lifestyle is not a decision that many people choose to take here,” he said. “Ask yourself, why risk the complications of bariatric surgery when a conservative approach to treatment is as effective and can be more sustainable? Surgery does not change behaviour. Whilst it can give some people body mass control, for many it is a stop gap and it is not risk free.” Semaglutide weight-loss drugs, used to treat diabetics, such as Ozempic, are growing in popularity worldwide, and in Cayman. Gent warned against relying on such medications as a solution for losing weight, noting that the pounds lost using these drugs usually come back after treatment is halted. He said people in Cayman had rationalised their fears about the health impacts of obesity, convincing themselves that the consequences of being overweight are “treatable” and refusing “to take responsibility for own lives”. But he noted, “To be treatable, disease must be detected. And between 450 and 1,400 Caymanians have undetected, and so untreated, disease (diabetes) at this time.” He added that, to be treated, people need access to affordable care – and between 1,800 and 3,500 individuals on island know they have diabetes, but are not being treated for it. “For treatments to be optimal, their care must be delivered through well- defined care pathways, using appropriate clinical services with good outcome data – not something I am confident happens for a large proportion of the Caymanian diabetics,” he said. ‘Epidemic of obesity’ 7 in 10 adults in Cayman overweight NORMA CONNOLLY nconnolly@compassmedia.ky Amputations among male diabetics in Cayman are 2.5 times higher than the estimated global rate, attendees at the Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference heard last week. National epidemiologist Rachel Corbett, delivering diabetes surveillance data collected at the Health Services Authority between 2016 and 2021, stated that 76 diabetics – both male and female – required amputations during that six-year period. Even though there are more female than male diabetics on island, males are more likely to need an amputation relating to their disease. Far more diabetic men than women underwent amputations, Corbett said, noting that in 2021, 4.7 men in every 1,000 had amputations, compared to one in every 1,000 women. Comparing Cayman’s diabetes-related amputation rate among men, with the global numbers, Corbett noted it was 2.5 time higher. Between 2010 and 2020 worldwide, there were 0.83 annual amputations per 1,000 women with diabetes, and 1.78 per 1,000 among men with diabetes. In the six-year period examined by the Public Health Department, 5,711 individual cases had been identified as being treated within the islands’ public healthcare system. Corbett noted that the data collated by the Public Health Department related to HSA figures, and were not national statistics. She said the number of people being treated for diabetes was increasing each year, and that the ratio of cases within the HSA was 1.5 females to one male with the disease. Data was also collated about the ages of amputees – the average age for females was 67 to 82, while the average age for males was 63 to 70. However, Corbett pointed out that one factor that the researchers had been unable to determine so far was at what age the diabetics had first been diagnosed. “That’s a really important aspect to be able to understand their care pathway, where along the process maybe they have not been able to get the right care they needed and ended up requiring amputation,” she said. She added that without the full picture, the research team was limited in what could deduce, but hypotheses that could be proposed from the existing data were that there may be undiagnosed and/or undertreated diabetes among males, and that men may be undergoing treatment later in the progression of their disease, hence the need for amputations. Behaviour relating to controlling a person’s diabetes is also likely to be a factor in the issue, she added, noting that changing people’s behaviour can be “quite challenging”. In a separate data-collecting exercise, in the STEPS national healthcare survey carried out earlier this year, researchers found that 7.7% of Cayman adults had high blood sugar levels. National epidemiologist Rachel Corbett speaks at the Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference on 26 Oct. - Photo: David Goddard Amputations for male diabetics double global rate The rate of amputations among Cayman’s male diabetes population 4.7 in 1,000 Chief Medical Officer Dr. Nick Gent discusses the ‘epidemic of obesity’ at the 14th annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference at The Ritz-Carlton on Thursday, 26 Oct. - Photo: David Goddard UnderweightNormal weight OverweightObese 50 National BMI status by sex, 2023 40 30 20 10 0 24.9 24.9 31.3 24.9 41 32.7 26.4 41.1 This chart shows the percentage of men and women in the Cayman Islands who are underweight, of normal weight, overweight or obese. - Source: STEPS Survey 2023 cayman compass 6 news N news WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023You can have 5 chances to win up to $4,000 Christmas cash when you get a NO FEE loan with RBC! A bank for all of you Learn more at rbc.com/caribbean/christmascash ®/™ Trademark(s) of Royal Bank of Canada. Used under license. Limited time offer ending December 15, 2023. Subject to normal lending criteria. Special conditions apply. The cost of borrowing will be made available upon application. cayman compass 7 WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023A new frontier in Cayman Islands healthcare: Announcing Camana Bay’s Centre for Health and Wellness Purpose-built facility announced to meet growing needs of health and wellness community, scheduled for 2026 completion. GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman: Building on a thoughtfully master-planned and curated Camana Bay Town Centre develop- ment, Dart has announced its plans for a new Centre for Health and Wellness, catering to the expanding demands of a growing Cayman Islands health and wellness industry that seeks world-class facilities in a centralised location. The new three-storey purpose-built structure is to be constructed in Camana Bay’s southern gateway, just steps away from the new Health City Cayman Islands medical campus. This 60,000-square-foot centre will provide a welcoming and convenient envi- ronment for health and wellness clients, as well as improve accessibility to healthcare services for residents and visitors alike, bringing a wide variety of experts together under one roof. Dart vice president of leas- ing and business development, Kristy Rivers, said that before embarking on the project sev- eral discussions were held with public- and private-sector rep- resentatives to ensure what was being conceptualised was attuned to their needs. “We’ve paid acute attention to the demands of the local health and wellness community, as we thoughtfully reshape the landscape to expand offerings for the benefit of our resident and tourist popu- lations and, for us, this was the obvious next step in catering to the needs of a blossoming commu- nity,” said Rivers, in making the announcement at the 2023 Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference. “The Centre will be designed in accordance with new urban principles, will provide ease of connectivity from the Town Centre to compli- mentary mixed-use medical, health and wellness services and amenities. The building design will feature all the must-haves to include back-up generator and elevator capacity to comfortably accommodate gurneys. The Centre, consistent with standards throughout Camana Bay, will be constructed to International Building Code with required local amendments, will incorporate Mi- ami-Dade standards, seismic requirements and LEED specifications, underscoring our ongoing commitment to sustainability,” said Rivers. The Centre for Health and Wellness, which is scheduled to open in 2026, will be ideally situat- ed off the new Airport Connector Road and the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, within walking dis- tance of the Camana Bay Town Centre, providing unrivalled connectivity for healthcare profession- als and their clients alike. Gary Gibbs, executive vice president for devel- opment, said from inception, health and wellness has been integral to the design of Camana Bay. “We have developed the town centre and its buildings to capture prevailing winds and shade from mature trees to the New Urbanism plan- ning, which provides a walkable environment,” he said. “Our team’s commitment to incorporat- ing the highest levels of sustainability continues with this project, as we create and deliver at a quality that has become synonymous with Dart developments.” The Centre for Health and Wellness will be an ideal place for healthcare professionals, from general medical practitioners and specialists to those offering allied services like chiropractors, physiotherapists and yoga instructors. They can all call home a building that will provide a warm and welcoming environment for tenants and their clients, with supporting ground-floor amenities such as a café and wellness offerings. An appli- cation is expected before the Central Planning Authority in the coming weeks. For more on the Centre for Health and Wellness, contact Dart’s commercial leasing team at leasing@dart.ky. SPONSORED CONTENT Dart vice president of leasing and business development, Kristy Rivers, announced plans for the Centre for Health and Wellness at the 2023 Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference. A conceptual rendering of the Centre for Health and Wellness. The 60,000 square foot purpose-built facility is expected to be completed by 2026. All visual renderings are for illustrative purposes only and are subject to change. While CSDL endeavours to provide accurate and current information in its marketing materials, Camana Bay is a dynamic development and all visual renderings and data are subject to change without notice. CSDL disclaims any and all liability for any decisions made by any person relying on the information contained herein. cayman compass 8 WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023A new frontier in Cayman Islands healthcare: Announcing Camana Bay’s Centre for Health and Wellness Purpose-built facility announced to meet growing needs of health and wellness community, scheduled for 2026 completion. GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman: Building on a thoughtfully master-planned and curated Camana Bay Town Centre develop- ment, Dart has announced its plans for a new Centre for Health and Wellness, catering to the expanding demands of a growing Cayman Islands health and wellness industry that seeks world-class facilities in a centralised location. The new three-storey purpose-built structure is to be constructed in Camana Bay’s southern gateway, just steps away from the new Health City Cayman Islands medical campus. This 60,000-square-foot centre will provide a welcoming and convenient envi- ronment for health and wellness clients, as well as improve accessibility to healthcare services for residents and visitors alike, bringing a wide variety of experts together under one roof. Dart vice president of leas- ing and business development, Kristy Rivers, said that before embarking on the project sev- eral discussions were held with public- and private-sector rep- resentatives to ensure what was being conceptualised was attuned to their needs. “We’ve paid acute attention to the demands of the local health and wellness community, as we thoughtfully reshape the landscape to expand offerings for the benefit of our resident and tourist popu- lations and, for us, this was the obvious next step in catering to the needs of a blossoming commu- nity,” said Rivers, in making the announcement at the 2023 Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference. “The Centre will be designed in accordance with new urban principles, will provide ease of connectivity from the Town Centre to compli- mentary mixed-use medical, health and wellness services and amenities. The building design will feature all the must-haves to include back-up generator and elevator capacity to comfortably accommodate gurneys. The Centre, consistent with standards throughout Camana Bay, will be constructed to International Building Code with required local amendments, will incorporate Mi- ami-Dade standards, seismic requirements and LEED specifications, underscoring our ongoing commitment to sustainability,” said Rivers. The Centre for Health and Wellness, which is scheduled to open in 2026, will be ideally situat- ed off the new Airport Connector Road and the Esterley Tibbetts Highway, within walking dis- tance of the Camana Bay Town Centre, providing unrivalled connectivity for healthcare profession- als and their clients alike. Gary Gibbs, executive vice president for devel- opment, said from inception, health and wellness has been integral to the design of Camana Bay. “We have developed the town centre and its buildings to capture prevailing winds and shade from mature trees to the New Urbanism plan- ning, which provides a walkable environment,” he said. “Our team’s commitment to incorporat- ing the highest levels of sustainability continues with this project, as we create and deliver at a quality that has become synonymous with Dart developments.” The Centre for Health and Wellness will be an ideal place for healthcare professionals, from general medical practitioners and specialists to those offering allied services like chiropractors, physiotherapists and yoga instructors. They can all call home a building that will provide a warm and welcoming environment for tenants and their clients, with supporting ground-floor amenities such as a café and wellness offerings. An appli- cation is expected before the Central Planning Authority in the coming weeks. For more on the Centre for Health and Wellness, contact Dart’s commercial leasing team at leasing@dart.ky. SPONSORED CONTENT Dart vice president of leasing and business development, Kristy Rivers, announced plans for the Centre for Health and Wellness at the 2023 Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference. A conceptual rendering of the Centre for Health and Wellness. The 60,000 square foot purpose-built facility is expected to be completed by 2026. All visual renderings are for illustrative purposes only and are subject to change. While CSDL endeavours to provide accurate and current information in its marketing materials, Camana Bay is a dynamic development and all visual renderings and data are subject to change without notice. CSDL disclaims any and all liability for any decisions made by any person relying on the information contained herein. cayman compass 9 WEEKLY, 3-9 NOVEMBER 2023Next >