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The Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Foundation (“BHCF”) announces the appointment of Ms. Kim Pratt as its new Executive Director (“ED”).

“After an exhaustive search, the BHCF Board are pleased to welcome Ms. Pratt whose extensive charitable administration experience in Bermuda is especially essential post-pandemic as the BHCF plans an active fundraising year ahead,”  stated Ms. Penny MacIntyre, BHCF Board Chairman.

Ms. Pratt is successor to the outgoing ED, Ms. Lisa Sheppard who joined the then Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust (“Trust”) in 2016 and remained during the Trust’s transition into the Foundation in October 2018.  Ms. MacIntyre expressed gratitude for Ms. Sheppard’s tenure and impact, “We are grateful to Ms. Sheppard for her 7 years of service and dedication to our Board, the various BHCF initiatives, mandates and our donors.”   Ms. Sheppard shall remain until March 31, 2023 to provide the BHCF Board and Ms. Pratt with a suitable transition period.   

“I am thrilled to have Ms. Pratt take on the role of ED at the BHCF. She comes with a strong background in Trust and company administration, board experience and non-profit sector knowledge. The future of our organisation is in good and capable hands,” said Ms. Sheppard.

Ms. Pratt brings with her a wealth of knowledge having over 18 years’ experience within the Trust industry as a qualified Trust and Estate Practitioner, working directly with Centennial Bermuda Foundation (formerly Bank of Bermuda Foundation) and managing charitable structures and scholarship programmes. 

Ms. Pratt shares, “I am excited for the opportunity to work with the BHCF and its Board of Directors and I look forward to nurturing our relationship with the Bermuda Hospitals Board (“BHB”), establishing strong connections within our community and advancing awareness of BHCF’s role in supporting the hospital through its mission to enhance Health and Healthcare in Bermuda.”

Since becoming the “Foundation”, the BHCF has provided over $5M in assistance to various BHB programmes from Scholarships, Learning and Development, special projects, a new laundry facility and assistance with various Covid-19 related expenses including a life-saving oxygen-generating machine.

BHB Announces:

Faster and more efficient laundry now in operation.

Bermuda Hospital Board (BHB)’s upgraded laundry department has come through its testing phase with a clean bill of health.

CEO & President Michael Richmond, commented: “Every single patient care area requires clean, sanitised laundry. I can’t emphasise enough how important it is to have an effective and efficient laundry service supplying the required linens, gowns, towels and other items in the delivery of patient care. In fact, about 6,000lbs of it is cleaned, dried and pressed every day at BHB.

“Prior to the upgrade, our laundry staff were hampered by old equipment that was prone to breaking down. They had to work with an infrastructure that hadn’t been properly upgraded in over 60 years. The ultimate beneficiary of the upgrade is patient care, so my thanks go to all involved in making this project a success and special appreciation for our laundry staff for all they do each day to help us deliver the highest quality and safest care to our patients.”

Laundry Manager Kizzy Philips gave special thanks to the laundry staff and the BIU: “We’ve had six months of the upgrade, and many years of working with old equipment and infrastructure. Taking us through to today, the laundry staff have been fantastic, and we couldn’t have asked for a better working partnership with the BIU. I’m excited to see a laundry facility that helps laundry staff support the clinical services across all our campuses. The new equipment makes a huge difference to our productivity and efficiency, and we are proud knowing that we are now meeting international laundry standards.

Director of Hotel Services Jerome Swainson added: “The laundry processes all linens, gowns and clothes used by new-borns through to those near the end of life, the curtains used across the hospital, microfibre cloths used by Environmental Services, as well lab coats and scrubs for staff. For safety and comfort patients and staff need clean laundry items constantly and we can now deliver this through a more efficient service.”

The project started in July 2022 and cost $6.6 million, in line with its original budget. The impact of the costs on BHB, however, was eased by a $1.3 million donation by a single donor through the Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Foundation (BHCF).

Executive Director of the BHCF, Kim Pratt, noted: “We are very grateful to our donor, the Pritzker/Schwartz, Vlock family, who could see the importance of a modern laundry to the delivery of high quality patient care. The donor had originally reached out during COVID to see how they could help, but responded when they heard BHB needed to upgrade and expand the laundry facility. The donor stated that they knew this would have a long-lasting effect. The following is a direct quote: ‘We love Bermuda and the hospital as it is such an important resource for the island we love so much.’”

Vice President of Hotel Services, Facilities and Property Management, Danny Moore, gave special thanks to the facilities staff and vendors working on the project: “Working with such old infrastructure is extremely challenging and this project was not without its surprises and challenges. It’s great credit to all our partners on the project and internal staff that we worked through them, and managed to keep to the budget. The new laundry is a credit to all involved in the project.”

About the BHB laundry and upgrade project:

What is cleaned in the BHB laundry?

All linens, blankets, curtains, clothes such as patient gowns and babywear, staff scrubs, microfibre cloths and wash cloths. About 6,000lbs of laundry is cleaned, dried and pressed every day.

Which areas does laundry support?

All BHB facilities, including KEMH, MWI, group homes, Agape House, and the Lamb Foggo Urgent Care Centre

Number of laundry staff

33 including full time, part time and casual

What new equipment is in the new laundry?

• Six new washing machines – one 450lb machine, five 160lb machines and one smaller 55 lb machine for baby linens and scrubs. There used to be three machines.
• Six new dryers – five 200lb dryers and one 80lb dryer. There used to be three dryers.
• Two new folding machines

What were the infrastructure upgrades?

• Changes to infrastructure allows a workflow that means soiled linen in sorted in a separated area away from clean linen
• New hot and cold water lines, steam piping and exhaust ductwork
• Old boiler room demolished, with new building to house the new hot water system to allow the washers to operate more efficiently
• New infrastructure design makes repairs and maintenance easier, with access to the back of the dryers, for example
• New fire suppression system

Project partners:

• Greymane
• BAC
• Noesis
• ABM
• Direct Machinery
• Bermuda Commercial Laundry
• Especially for You Laundry

History of laundry renovations:

• The part of the hospital the laundry is in was built in the 1960s and there have been no major infrastructure upgrades since then
• There was an upgrade in 2004 (18 years ago) when three new 175lb dryers and two new 275 lb washers were purchased along with a new air condition system and upgraded steam supply and electrical distribution system
• In 2008 (14 years ago), a large 450lb washer, two folding machines and new software was purchased.

Faster and more efficient laundry now in operation – Bermuda Hospitals Board

Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Foundation (“BHCF”) is seeking new Directors for the 2024 year

BHCF’s mission is to support the Bermuda Hospitals Board in enhancing Health and Healthcare services in Bermuda. BHCF was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 2018 as a modernized charitable organization to the former Bermuda Hospitals Charitable Trust (BHCT) which was established in 2003.

Through its “Why It Matters” Campaign, BHCT raised more than $30 million for the Acute Care Wing thereby becoming the largest and most successful capital campaign in Bermuda.

BHCF are seeking Directors that have a diverse range of talents including but not limited to;

• Legal
• Accounting
• Finance
• Healthcare
• Fundraising

These volunteer positions are ideal for those that wish to give back in a meaningful way by helping to improve hospital and community healthcare in Bermuda.

Previous charitable board experience is preferable but not necessary.  Interested candidates would need the time to commit to 8 - 10 board meetings per year and be willing to participate on a Committee as required.

Please submit your resume by 22nd September, 2023 to:

Kim Pratt, Executive Director,

by email to kim.pratt@bhcf.bm

or call with any questions on 239-1519.

Website: www.bhcf.bm