SABA/ST. EUSTATIUS--Due to the rising number of COVID-19 virus infections in St. Maarten, Care and Youth Caribbean Netherlands ZJCN will suspend medical referrals of patients to St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) for at least two weeks, it was announced Thursday.
This decision was taken after consultation with the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment RIVM and Health and Youth Care Inspectorate IGJ.
For acute medical emergencies, patients from Saba and St. Eustatius will still be sent to SMMC in St. Maarten, it was stated.
This means that the ZJCN Health Insurance Office ZVK currently does not send insured persons from Statia and Saba to St. Maarten on regular (elective) medical referrals. This concerns patients of all ages, and not only juveniles, as was erroneously stated in the print edition of The Daily Herald of Friday, July 31.
Semi-acute medical referrals, such as medical treatments of a non-life-threatening nature, but necessary to address short-term, are instead sent to hospitals in Bonaire, Curaçao or Aruba, depending on the urgency of the referral.
ZJCN will continue to monitor the situation closely, the healthcare organisation said Thursday. “ZJCN understands that this creates uncertainty about the schedule of medical referral to St. Maarten and hopes for your understanding and cooperation in this situation. For questions about your medical referral, please contact your referring doctor or specialist,” ZJCN said.
