fp Turks and Caicos

Dr. Denise Braithwaite-Tennant will be heading back to her home town of Grand Turk next month to provide residents with medical care at the Cockburn Town Medical Centre.

She will be coming full circle with her return after gaining the Governor’s Scholarship for Academic Excellence as a teenager.

“I was born in Grand Turk and grew up in the West Road area,” she said. “I have a passion for the people of the TCI and everyone who calls this beautiful country their home.

“I left Grand Turk to pursue a career in the field of medicine after successfully winning the Governor’s Scholarship, and I’m delighted to be going back.”

The doctor has been in charge of InterHealth Canada’s emergency departments at the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre on Providenciales for the past 18 months and will now combine her previous role with her new administrative post at the hospital on Grand Turk.

Braithwaite-Tennant received a bachelor of science degree in biology in the United States and earned a degree in general medicine from the University of the West Indies in Trinidad and a specialty in emergency medicine from the University of the West Indies in Jamaica. She is now studying for a master’s degree in health systems management at the University of Liverpool.

Prior to her return to the Turks and Caicos Islands, Braithwaite-Tennant worked at hospitals in Barbados, Connecticut and every level one facility in Jamaica. The hard-working doctor is considered a trauma expert and says she is looking forward to further improving the health care service on Grand Turk.

“I am extremely happy that InterHealth has given me the opportunity to serve in this capacity,” she said. “My dedication to the improvement of the secondary health care sector is going to be the impetus that drives me to fulfill this role to the best of my ability.”

InterHealth Canada’s CEO Roger Cheesman described Braithwaite-Tennant’s move as “Provo’s loss and Grand Turk’s gain.”

“It is with mixed feelings that we all see Denise move from the Cheshire Hall Medical Centre to Cockburn Town Medical Centre,” he said.

“However, fortunately this highly popular, talented and inspirational young lady will be spending time with us on Provo on a regular basis as part of her role as head of the emergency department.

“We have all witnessed her expertise in the emergency department, and now we are sure to see those skills come to the fore once more. Her new post in Grand Turk will be challenging, balancing life as a mum and wife as well as running ED services, undertaking administrative duties at Cockburn Town Medical Centre and, to cap it all off, working towards an advanced management degree.

“Our best wishes go with Denise and we look forward to working with her in this new position.”