This corporate office will serve as a hub for strategic planning, curriculum development, staff training, and community engagement.
Former Premier of Turks and Caicos Islands Dr. Rufus Ewing is one of the founders of the Hamilton University School of Medicine, along with his wife Dr Dawn Perry Ewing and son Dr. Stuart Ewing. Dr Ewing also serves as Executive Chairman of the Hamilton Education Foundation.
Speaking at the opening, Dr. Ewing highlighted the importance of the Hamilton Education Foundation’s (HEF) mission in the broader landscape of healthcare transformation.
As Chairman of HEF and the driving force behind the Hamilton University School of Medicine (HUSM), Dr. Ewing emphasized the foundation’s commitment to addressing pressing health challenges, not only locally but across the Caribbean region and globally.
“The opening of the Corporate Office of the Hamilton Education Foundation (HEF) is another significant milestone in the development of its health institutions,” Dr. Ewing said. “This new Corporate Office and training center will play a vital role in our mission, serving as a hub for strategic planning, staff training, curriculum development, and community engagement.”
In an interview with the Sun, Dr. Ewing elaborated on the foundation’s mission, which transcends traditional medical education. “We believe that this center is a vital step in our commitment to not only medical education but to social accountability, ensuring health equity, well-being, and socio-economic transformation of our communities locally and globally.”
HUSM is not just another medical school. According to Dr. Ewing, it was born out of a desire to tackle some of the most significant health challenges facing the Turks and Caicos Islands, the wider Caribbean, and even the global community. “The Hamilton University School of Medicine is being developed primarily to address several health challenges,” Dr. Ewing noted.
“These include the local and global shortage of physicians, the insufficient research that supports evidence-based clinical practice, and inequitable access to quality healthcare services.”
One of the priority areas for HUSM is addressing the physician shortage. “There is inadequate physician training to meet the global demand,” Dr. Ewing said. “This is fueled primarily by low supply due to the insufficient number of medical education programs and clinical training spaces, coupled with the high demand driven by the increasing number of retiring physicians, the high disease burden, and the need to increase access to healthcare services.”
Dr. Ewing also spoke passionately about the inequitable distribution of physicians. “We see an inequitable distribution of physicians between developed high-income countries and developing, middle to low-income countries. This is also the case between rural and urban areas and between primary care and secondary or tertiary care levels.”
HUSM, according to Dr. Ewing, will go beyond producing doctors; it will create leaders in health who will be advocates for change. “The overarching goal of the HUSM medical education curriculum is to develop physicians who are leaders, innovators, and drivers of health transformation,” Dr. Ewing explained. “These physicians will advocate for the health of individuals and communities, ensuring equity and social justice.”
HUSM’s commitment on collaborating with other institutions is also at the forefront of its mission. Dr. Ewing mentioned ongoing partnerships with academic institutions in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and the Caribbean. “We have engaged several academic institutions to develop mutually beneficial partnerships in capacity building, clinical training, curriculum development and implementation, and global health initiatives.”
These partnerships, according to Dr. Ewing, will have a significant impact on the delivery of medical education and healthcare in the Turks and Caicos Islands. “These collaborations are in various stages of development and will play a crucial role in delivering high-quality medical education,” he said.
In discussing the future of the institution, Dr. Ewing highlighted the steps being taken to ensure HUSM’s accreditation and regulatory oversight. “The HUSM is focused on delivering high-quality medical education and will be regulated by the Turks and Caicos Islands Ministry of Education Higher Education Advisory Board and accredited by the Caribbean Accreditation Authority for Education in Medicine and Other Health Professions (CAAM-HP).”
He further added, “HUSM has received a provisional license from the TCI Higher Education Advisory Board and is working towards receiving its full license prior to matriculating its first class. Likewise, HUSM has submitted its application to CAAM-HP for accreditation candidacy status and will continue to work with that accreditation body to achieve full accreditation.”
As the institution progresses towards its first intake of students, Dr. Ewing envisions HUSM as an institution anchored in excellence. “HUSM will be an institution that is always ‘Ascending, Anchored in Excellence.’ We have a vision of being an internationally recognized Caribbean institution with global reach and impact.”
The Hamilton University School of Medicine is set to transform not only the healthcare landscape of the Turks and Caicos Islands but also that of the broader Caribbean and beyond. “Our slogan is ‘transforming local communities, impacting the world,'” Dr. Ewing proudly stated. “We are committed to retaining an adequate number of physicians in the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Caribbean region to address our critical shortage.”
With the opening of the Hamilton Education Foundation Corporate Office, the vision of transforming health education and care in the Turks and Caicos Islands is one step closer to reality. “This is more than just an office,” Dr. Ewing said. “It is the beginning of a journey towards health equity, innovation, and socio-economic transformation.”
The Turks and Caicos Islands, through the leadership of Dr. Ewing and the team at HUSM, now stand at the threshold of becoming a regional and global leader in medical education and healthcare transformation. “Here’s to new beginnings and a brighter future,” Dr. Ewing concluded.
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