Magazine.

Our mandate at the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital is to provide high quality, cost-effective patient care to all Bermudian residents and to continually improve the quality of this care and service to our community.

We are proud to announce that we have achieved an important milestone along our journey together with the opening of our new, state-of-the-art surgical wing.

As soon as you enter the lobby of this facility, you will see a tangible symbol of the hospital's firm commitment to the preservation of life and caregiving: the thought-provoking, "Spark of Life'' sculpture.

The new surgical wing has its roots in the Bermuda Hospitals Board's master plan for spatial requirements, which determined that the surgical suites were in need of refurbishment and updating.

In June 1996, ground was broken for the construction of the three-story addition located at the southwest end of the hospital.

Today, the culmination of a multitude of people's efforts is a range of new and enhanced surgical programmes, which essentially raise the level of surgical care available to Bermudian residents.

Patient education, screening programmes and general medical care are the focus of services provided on the ground floor level. These include the Diabetes Education Centre, Mammography and ultrasound departments and a General Medical Clinic.

In the future, a new Hyperbaric Chamber and Wound Care clinic will be added.

Level 1 houses the new clinical laboratory, while the five Operating Rooms, the Endoscopy Suite and Sterile Processing department are on the second floor.

Highly sophisticated anaesthetic and monitoring equipment help ensure that surgical procedures are carried out as safely as possible.

Patient care is further enhanced because pre-admissions patient processing staff and postoperative caregivers are now able to work even more closely with the surgical teams.

Spark of life for hospital For a community of its size, Bermuda can be proud to boast about this level of surgical service.

More than $3.5 million of equipment utilising the latest technological advancements has been installed in this facility, funded through the Bermuda Health Alliance and the generosity of the Lion's and Lioness' Clubs of Bermuda.

Additional funding for construction was raised through a bond issue.

Although the surgical wing was already in use, the official opening and dedication was held on November 20, a landmark day in the history the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital.

The afternoon festivities featured the dedications of "The Spark of Life'' sculpture created by Mrs. Vivienne Gardner and the donor wall recognising the numerous contributors who made this project a reality.

We raised the Bermuda Hospitals Board flag, organised tours, served refreshments and planted a Bermuda cedar tree.