L_R – Raydeen Hunte, RUBIS’ Network Brand Coordinator, Andrea Gooding, Dr. Diane Brathwaite and Cally Boyea testing the new ECG machine.
With the number of diabetics in Barbados reaching approximately 50,000, Rubis has signed on to support the prevention and education efforts of the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre of the Caribbean operated by the Barbados Diabetes Foundation.
At the end of 2017, the energy company funded an electrocardiogram (ECG) machine for the Centre. In accepting the donation, Cally Boyea, CEO, Barbados Diabetes Foundation, thanked Rubis for their support and generosity. He said, “This machine, with all its enhanced features, fits well into supporting our national mandate on the management of diabetes in Barbados.”
Mr. Boyea went on to explain that it was now widely known that diabetes had become a worldwide epidemic, affecting millions of people globally and the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre offered a holistic approach to its management. He said , “Nowhere else on the island or across the region can you find a clinic that provides the multidisciplinary care we offer for those persons living with disease.”
During a tour of the Centre with the Rubis team, Dr. Diane Brathwaite, Clinical Manager and Resident doctor with the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre, explained the multidisciplinary care offered by the facility included Retinal Screening, Specialist Nurse Services, Nutrition Consultation, Diabetes Specialist Physician, Diabetes Foot care by their podiatry staff, Medication Management, Exercise Programs, Education and Self-Management training to ensure patients are coping well with the disease. She said, “This ECG machine will be a critical piece of equipment for the assessment of our patients and their needs.” She added, “We can now complete the 10 minute ECG test, which checks the heart’s activity and rhythm, at the Diabetes Centre eliminating the need for our patients to go elsewhere for the same service.”
In making the presentation of the ECG machine, Andrea Gooding, Rubis’ Marketing Manager explained she was impressed with the work of the Maria Holder Diabetes Centre. She said” Mr. Boyea and Dr. Brathwaite gave our team an interactive tour of the facility and shared some of the work being done by the organisation.” She added, “Rubis is pleased to assist the Barbados Diabetes Foundation in their mission to provide valuable diabetic health care and enhance diabetes education in a world class facility. The Maria Holder Diabetes Centre is a valuable facility for Barbados and by extension the Eastern Caribbean. We hope to continue our support in 2018.”
