(MENAFN- Caribbean News Global) -Address by Prime Minister Philip J. Pierre at the handing over ceremony of St Jude hospital to the ministry of health – November 16, 2025

“When we assumed office in 2021, we made a promise to return the St Jude hospital to its rightful home, and today, Sunday, November 16, we have kept this promise and delivered.”“Promise Made! Promise Kept! Promise Delivered!”

My fellow Saint Lucians, my brothers and sisters of Vieux Fort [today], we stand on sacred ground. A site where tragedy once occurred. A place that tested our faith and our patience. And now, a place reborn and rebuilt through perseverance, unity, and love of country.

Sixteen years ago, in the early hours of September 9, 2009, a fire ravaged through St Jude hospital. Three of our own Mernus Vigier, Claudius Soudine, and Joseph Jn Baptiste lost their lives. Three souls whose memory we honour today. Their loss reminds us that healthcare is not just about bricks and mortar, it's about people. It's about life. And it's about our shared responsibility to protect and preserve both.

Today is a day of remembrance, a day to honour the lives we lost and the burden this community has carried for so many years. A day to reflect on the families who stood outside these grounds searching for answers on the uncertainty that swept through Vieux Fort, on the collective heartbreak that touched an entire nation.

Today is not about politics. It is not about blame. It's not about pointing fingers or debating figures. Instead, this occasion has brought us back to a simple truth: being Saint Lucian should not be defined by anger, discord, or misinformation, but by compassion and shared humanity that keep us united.

It is about the duty we owe one another, the shared promise that no Saint Lucia in any corner of our island will ever be abandoned in their moment of need.

Today, a grateful nation gives thanks not only to God, but to the sisters of the Sorrowful Mother, a religious congregation of the Roman Catholic Church, through whose vision St Jude hospital was born – when the three sisters of the Sorrowful Mother – sisters; Urma Hilger SSM, Alphonsa SSM, and Elfridis SSM, qualified nurses, arrived in Saint Lucia on 13 January 1961. They were based in Castries, working at Victoria hospital, where they started the First School of Nursing in the country.

They also wanted to build a hospital in Castries, but upon the invitation of Sir John Compton, they decided to rehabilitate the old American Naval hospital in Vieux-Fort, which was officially opened on October 25, 1966, through the yeoman efforts of many, especially Sr Mark Schilling, SSM, and Saint Lucian, Hogarth Belizaire.

In 1992, the St Jude hospital was handed over to the government of Saint Lucia to be managed by a statutory board.

Now, let's be honest 16 years is a long time. Too long. Too long for the people of the south to wait for their hospital to return home. Too long for mothers and fathers who had to travel miles for care. Too long for the doctors, nurses, and hospital staff who kept serving, day after day, in conditions no professional should ever have to endure.

And I say this plainly, the conscience of this government, my government, could not allow this situation to continue. It was not right. It was not just. And it was not the Saint Lucian way. We could not, in good conscience, look the people of the South, the people of this nation, in the eye and ask for their trust while they waited, and endured, and hoped.

So, we made a promise to return St Jude hospital to its rightful home. And today, my friends, we kept that promise.

This moment is not just a celebration; it is a restoration of dignity. For over a decade, the men and women who worked at St Jude carried a weight that few can understand. They served from the George Odlum Stadium, a space meant for sport, not for surgery. Yet they turned it into a place of healing. With limited space, outdated equipment, and endless challenges, they did what heroes do: they adapted, they endured, and they cared.

When the COVID-19 pandemic tested the world, those same doctors, nurses, and healthcare workers stood on the frontlines. They faced fear with courage, exhaustion with compassion, and hardship with grace. They cared for us when they themselves needed care. And they did it without complaint, without comfort, without hesitation. To each of them, we say from the bottom of Saint Lucia's heart, thank you. You kept St Jude hospital alive when it could have easily been forgotten. You are the heartbeat of this hospital.

Now, let us be clear about the moment we are in. A hospital doesn't simply spring to life. It becomes truly alive when the people who serve within it are given the tools, the space, and the support they need This is the point at which the contractors and the government step back, and the medical professionals step forward.

Our job was to create the conditions to build the environment where excellence can thrive, where our doctors and nurses have what they need, where the systems are strong and the foundation is sound. We have overcome the obstacles, we've secured the resources, and we've delivered a facility worthy of the people it will serve. Now, it is in the hands of the men and women who bring healing to life. They will take this hospital from a completed structure to a fully functioning institution, one that will care, comfort, and provide healing to the people of Saint Lucia for generations to come.

My friends, this new St Jude hospital is not just a building; it is a promise fulfilled. It is modern, safe, and equipped to serve the needs of a growing nation. It doubles the capacity of the old facility, includes new surgical theatres and improved pediatric care, and provides the kind of infrastructure that tells every patient who walks through its doors: you matter.

But beyond the bricks and technology, what stands before us is a symbol of what happens when a government puts people first. A symbol of what happens when conscience guides action. And a symbol of what happens when, after years of division and delay, we finally say,“Enough.”

To the people of Vieux Fort, you waited too long. You carried this burden with patience and courage. Today, we return to you what has always been yours: a hospital you can call home. To every nurse, doctor, technician, and support staff who kept faith through the darkest years, this is your victory. And to every citizen who refused to give up hope, this moment is for you.

Today is proof that from tragedy can come triumph, from failure can come redemption, and from broken trust can come renewed purpose. It is proof that when we lead with heart, when we lead with conscience, progress is not just possible, it is inevitable.

To my cabinet of ministers, I thank you for putting the needs of the people first.

Let me thank the government and people of Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Development Fund

The local contractor, CIE Ltd, consultants, workers, staff of the ministry of economic development, and other government ministries for their commitment and patience during some trying times. You helped to make this day a reality.

Let this day remind us all that government is at its best when it listens, serves, and keeps its word. Let it remind us that no community, no constituency, no person should ever be left behind.

I end with a quotation from Desmond Tutu:

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”

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