$1.5 Million More for KHMH Expenses

After walking back his position on the management of Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital and its board of directors, Minister of Health and Wellness Michel Chebat today announced that the Government of Belize has made available an additional one point five million dollars for the national referral facility. It’s an about-face from last week’s terse comments about the K.H.M.H.A., nonetheless, it’s an injection of much needed funds into the hospital.

Michel Chebat, Minister of Health & Wellness

Michel Chebat

“Clearly, as I have said before, the KHMH is an integral part of our health system and our responsibility as a government and as a ministry is really to make sure that that institution remains open.  I had a very fruitful conversation with both the chairman and the vice chairman of the board and we’re trying to put in place a sixty-day forecast so that we don’t find them complaining or finding themselves having a shortage of medication.  We feel that if they give us at least a sixty-day list of the medication that they need then we can supply it one a timely basis.  As you saw today, the government has given a one point five million [dollar] injection into the KHMH to help them with their expenses.  So I have asked them, that instead of waiting for a year to present these expenses to the ministry, perhaps every thirty days they can give us the expenses they’ve incurred in terms of COVID, so that we can see how we can resolve that.  So I am hoping that those two things will help to ease the stress that they are feeling.”