Dec 19, 2025 | Island News
We are excited that more modern, state-of-the-art health care resources will be available on St Croix in a new health center! Construction has officially begun on the Donna M. Christian Christensen Health Center, the first Rebuild USVI project to move into the construction phase. The VI Daily News reports that the new public health facility is being built at the former Charles Harwood Memorial Complex site in Estate Richmond. The five-level, 117,000-square-foot facility will house primary care, behavioral health services, laboratory services, emergency medical services, environmental health, WIC and administrative offices.
The health center is name after medical doctor Donna M. Christian Christensen. In the groundbreaking ceremony, Dr. Christensen was honored as a physician, nationally recognized public health advocate and the first woman to serve as the territory’s delegate to Congress. Christensen’s work in health equity, minority health advocacy and federal policymaking, as well as her service to the Virgin Islands during the COVID-19 pandemic was also highlighted.
Read the full article here.
Photo credit Everett Ryan of VI Daily News
Mar 20, 2024 | Island News
Since 1992, the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation has contributed $3 million towards enhancing health care services in the region. The VI consortium article reported the insights into the legacy of Bennie Benjamin, a St Croix songwriter. The Foundation executor said Benjamin’s will specified that royalties from his songs be allocated to health care improvements within the Virgin Islands. The latest donation is to Frederiksted Health Care which has received 3 state-of-the-art dental scanners to improve patient care. These advanced scanners, one for each of FHC’s dental sites, were generously provided by the Bennie and Martha Benjamin Foundation to enhance dental care services on St. Croix. Hopefully the music played in the office is that of the St Croix songwriter.
The article also shared the transformative effects of this donation as illustrated by the FHC.
Prior to receiving the scanners, the process of creating dentures, crowns, and bridges was lengthy and prone to errors, involving off-island shipping of molds which could take 6 to 8 weeks. Heat during shipping sometimes caused molds to shrink, resulting in ill-fitting final products and necessitating re-doing the entire process. With the new scanners, images are sent directly to the lab, ensuring precise results and reducing turnaround time to 10 days.
Dr. Robert Good, Chief Dental Officer at FHC
Read the full article here.
Nov 20, 2023 | Island News
This is wonderful news for the University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) and for healthcare in the territory! The UVI School of Nursing (SON) will soon have a brand-new, state-of-the-art learning facility that will train existing and future nurses. At the official groundbreaking ceremony held this November on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix, UVI officials, government dignitaries, students, and guests gathered to celebrate the construction of the 11,800 square foot building that will serve as the learning center for nursing students and house the University’s Health Services Department. VI Lieutenant Governor Tregenza Roach said at the ground-breaking event, “We are poised to have a quality healthcare system in the Territory with these facilities at our disposal that will be critical in addressing the health needs of the people of the Virgin Islands as well as the health needs of our neighbors in the Caribbean who have no facilities that are comparable to the ones we have here.”
Read the full press release here.
