April 13, 2003 – The saws and hammers are busy at work renovating the tiny Morris F. De Castro Clinic in Cruz Bay, where officials of the Health Department have an expanded public health service on the drawing board.
"We've been working feverishly to get that place up and running," said engineer James Bernier. "It's small but it's going to be very efficient when it's done."
The renovation of De Castro Clinic, which began February 12, is now about two-thirds complete. Much of the task has been hanging drywall to create a cluster of small offices near the former nurse's station and improving the facilities used by St. John's Emergency Medical Service.
Roof repairs are under way, and extra lighting is being added to the hallways. Bathrooms are being rebuilt to comply with federal requirements under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
"In that space, there was no handicapped accessibility," Bernier said. "You have to be able to get a wheelchair in the door and through the space."
Efforts are also being made to restore the clinic's emergency generator.
When the work is done the clinic will restore a number of programs that used to operate there before they were transferred to the island's main health care facility on Gifft Hill.
"The services are not new," said Dr. Lucien Moolenaar, deputy commissioner for Public Health Services. "There was a hiatus during which time the services were moved up to Myrah Keating Smith."
Officials are now looking for a dentist to provide full-time dental service. Patients seeing eligibility in the Medicaid program will be able to apply there, Moolenaar said.
An office is planned for a public health nurse and for family planning counselors. Mental health and substance abuse programs, now available at the Cruz Bay clinic, will continue as part of the new menu of health care services.
To increase the convenience and availability of immunizations, Moolenaar said an agreement is being worked out that would allow the service to remain at Keating Smith and expand to De Castro. "We are confident that we can work it out," he said.
The street corner clinic, across the street from the administrator's office at the Battery, was St. John's premier health facility until Keating Smith was opened in the mid-1980s and resumed that role after 1989 Hurricane Hugo damaged the roof at the new clinic. It served as the temporary home for the Department of Finance after 1995 Hurricane Marilyn damaged portions of the administrator's office and a portion of the building later hosted offices of the National Park Service while a new Cruz Bay visitor's center was built in the late 1990s.
Health officials are planning a ceremony to mark the completion of renovations and re-introduce the people of St. John to the services available at the new and improved De Castro Clinic.
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