Pictured Left to Right: Coralee Adderley, Chief Hospital Administrator, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH); Nathaniel Beneby, Market Head, Personal Banking RBC Royal Bank; Sharon Wilson, Fund Raising Chairperson, PHM Foundation; George Roache, Market Head, Business Banking RBC Royal Bank; Nancy Kelly, Board Member, PHM Foundation; and Herbert Brown, Managing Director, Public Hospitals Authority.

New Providence, Bahamas – RBC today announced a $50,000.00 donation to the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation in support of its “Caring for Breasts Campaign”.  The goal of the campaign is to raise $500,000.00 for the purchase of a much needed mammography machine for the Princess Margaret Hospital that will provide state of the art screening for breast cancer.   

RBC has taken on a leadership role in this initiative and is the first corporate entity to provide major support.  The $50,000.00 represents 10% of the cost of the machine and RBC is encouraging other corporate entities to join the fight against this terrible disease.  

Breast cancer is a major health crisis facing The Bahamas.  A recent research study found that the percentage of Bahamian women with an abnormal gene that predisposes them to cancer is among the highest in the world.

These findings point to the need for increased screening of all Bahamian women and at earlier ages. The new machine that PMH plans to purchase will:

• Allow the Mammography Service to increase capacity for screening women by 100% (15 pts to 30 pts) in its current service times available.  The Radiology and Imaging Department however, plans, with the addition of this machine, to extend hours of service to make it more patient friendly and to accommodate client work schedules.  Extended service would be from 8:00am – 9:00 pm weekdays and 8:00am – 4:00pm on weekends.  It will however, also require new hires of 3 Full Time Equivalents (2 Radiographers and 1 Scheduling Clerk).  If successful in extending hours, as planned, the Department would be able to increase service productivity by a further 100%.
• Assist in meeting Departmental goals for providing patients access to technology that decreases radiation exposure (by up to 30%).
• Provide sharper images that can be manipulated/viewed from multiple angles
• Facilitate succinct storage of images per patient so that previous screenings can be easily referenced on an electronic database.
  

The cheque presentation was made to Mrs. Sharon Wilson, Fund Raising Chairperson of the Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation by Nat Beneby and George Roache.  Also present at the presentation were Mr. Herbert Brown, Managing Director, Public Hospitals Authority; Mrs. Coralee Adderley, Chief Hospital Administrator, PMH; Dr. Devonne Curling, Oncologist; and Mrs. Nancy Kelly, Foundation Board Member.  

Captions:

Photo 1: Pictured Left to Right: Coralee Adderley, Chief Hospital Administrator, Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH); Nathaniel Beneby, Market Head, Personal Banking RBC Royal Bank; Sharon Wilson, Fund Raising Chairperson, PHM Foundation; George Roache, Market Head, Business Banking RBC Royal Bank; Nancy Kelly, Board Member, PHM Foundation; and Herbert Brown, Managing Director, Public Hospitals Authority.  

Photo 2: Nathaniel Beneby, Market Head Personal Banking, RBC Royal Bank announces RBC’s $50,000.00 commitment as Sharon Wilson, Chairperson, Fund Raising, PMH Foundation looks on.

Photo 3: Herbert Brown, Managing Director PHA thanks RBC for its continued community support and for its $55 million loan to the government for the construction of the new Critical Care Wing of the Hospital scheduled for completion in 2013.  George Roache, Market Head Business Banking, RBC Royal Bank is also pictured.  
 

RBC Royal Bank has a longstanding presence in The Bahamas, with operations first established on November 2, 1908.  Today, it boasts a retail network of 20 branches throughout New Providence and the Family Islands, a Commercial Banking Business Centre, and 50 automated banking machines.