BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 26, 2018– Dr. Adrian Coye, the Chief Executive Officer of the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital (KHMH), last week seemingly suddenly tendered his resignation. His notice of resignation means that the KHMH’s board of directors has three months to find and hire a replacement.
However, the Karl Heusner Memorial Hospital Authority Board of Directors is also awaiting the appointment of a new chairman since Mrs. Marilyn Williams was appointed a judge of the Belize Supreme Court and cannot serve in both capacities.
Belize’s first and only cardio-thoracic surgeon, Dr. Coye, 47, intends to continue within the public health system, but primarily through his quest to mitigate the ravages of heart disease, as cardiopulmonary disorders are the leading cause of death in Belize. He is intent on developing a sustainable and modern cardio-thoracic surgery program in Belize, at the KHMH.
Dr. Coye was appointed to the post in October 2014 following the departure of Dr. Francis Gary Longsworth, who had served a six-year stint. There have since been visible and measurable improvements to the quality of care provided by the nation’s largest and only referral hospital, which sees almost 50,000 patient visits annually.
It is a 134-bed facility with a staff complement that consists of nearly 600 nurses, doctors, pharmacists, orderlies, cooks, maintenances and security personnel, among others. It was opened in September 1995 and has been operating under a statutory authority since April 2000.
Most observers believe that the first choice to replace Dr. Adrian Coye is the no-nonsense Director of Medical Services Dr. Lisa Johnson, MBBS, DM (Surg)(UWI), who was also appointed to that position in October 2014.
Dr. Johnson has extensive knowledge and expertise after overseeing all clinical and allied health services at the KHMH during her tenure over the last several years. Dr. Johnson is the first woman to complete the General Surgery Program at the University of the West Indies (UWI) and has been in the medical profession for 23 years – being a specialist for 11 of those years.