CIBC
FIRSTCARIBBEAN PLEDGES ANOTHER USD$1 MILLION TO SICKKIDS-CARIBBEAN
INITIATIVE FOR PHASE II OF THE REGIONAL PROGRAMME

Bridgetown,
Barbados, September 25, 2019
– CIBC
FirstCaribbeanhas
pledged a further USD$1 million for phase II of the
SickKids-Caribbean Initiative (SCI) which focusses on the improvement
of outcomes and quality of life for children with cancer and other
blood disorders across the region.

The
regional bank signed another Memorandum of Understanding with
SickKids Foundation of Canada, which underwrites the regional effort
to provide support for additional specialised nurse training, as well
as for research and advocacy over a five-year period.

In
2013, with the support of SickKids Foundation, the SickKids-Caribbean
Initiative (SCI), a not-for-profit partnership with the University of
the West Indies (UWI), Ministries of Health, hospitals and
institutions in six Caribbean countries, and the SickKids Centre for
Global Child Health, was established. This partnership focuses on
building sustainable local capacity to diagnose, treat, and manage
paediatric cancers and blood disorders.

CIBC
FirstCaribbean joined the effort, pledging USD$1 million over a
seven-year period (2014 – 2020) through its charitable arm,
FirstCaribbean International ComTrust Foundation. As nurse training
partner, the bank supported the development of a Paediatric
Haematology/Oncology Nursing Education program at the University of
the West Indies School of Nursing (UWISoN), Trinidad and Tobago. The
program aims to build nursing capacity in the Caribbean by developing
highly-skilled clinical nurses and leaders who advocate for patients
and their families, conduct quality improvement initiatives, and
mentor other health care providers to deliver safe and effective
paediatric care.

To
date 27 nurses from Barbados, The Bahamas, Jamaica, St. Vincent and
the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago have completed the
specialised one-year diploma programme.

Chief
Executive Officer of CIBC FirstCaribbean, Colette Delaney, hailed the
bank’s support for the SickKids-Caribbean Initiative as “one of
the most significant partnerships our bank has entered in the region.
The life expectancy and quality of life of this region’s most
vulnerable and valuable citizens – our children – who are
battling this disease is being significantly impacted by the work of
SCI.”

“We
are confident that phase II will build on those gains as we train
more nurses, doctors and other medical professionals and facilitate
research to support policy recommendations and advocacy,” said Ms.
Delaney, who is also the Chair of the FirstCaribbean International
ComTrust Foundation.

To
ensure the work of SCI has a lasting impact, a special SCI advisory
committee comprised of business leaders across the Caribbean, will be
dedicated to furthering the mission of SCI. The committee, of which
Ms. Delaney is a member, will also work with businesses, charities,
and governments, including ministries of health, to ensure there is
enough capital to continue the work of SCI in the region.

Since
the start of the initiative, SCI has installed seven telemedicine
sites in hospitals in the six partner countries; trained four
excellent, committed haematology/oncology Caribbean fellows;
completed more than 450 case consultations; created clinical care
guidance documents and supportive guidance documents, all adapted for
the local settings; completed more than 70,000 specialized diagnostic
tests; registered more than 600 patients in custom-built, local
paediatric oncology databases; trained 27 nurses from five countries
in the post-basic haematology/oncology diploma program at the
University of the West Indies School of Nursing; and participated in
knowledge translation activities aimed at sharing SCI’s approach,
challenges and success. Underpinning
these activities is critical research that will inform policy
recommendations for the region.

Phase
II of SCI will see 13 more regional nurses begin training, in
September, in the specialised care of children with blood disorders
and cancers. There will also be continued efforts to conduct critical
research and work with governments and academic institutions to
develop effective national and regional strategies to improve
outcomes for children with blood disorders and cancer.

The
latest partnership between the bank and SCI runs between 2019 and
2024.

IMAGES:

Photo
Captions:
Signing One: CEO of SickKids Foundation Ted Garrard and Debra King,
Director of Corporate Communications, CIBC FirstCaribbean sign the
new MOU witnessed by SickKids Fellow Dr. Chantelle Browne-Farmer
(back left) Bonnie Fleming-Carol, Associate Chief of Nursing &
Inter-professional Education at SickKids (centre) and Dr. Upton
Allen, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases at SickKids.

Caption:
Signing Three: Debra King, Director of Corporate Communications, CIBC
FirstCaribbean presenting CEO of SickKids Foundation Ted Garrard with
the pens used in the signing ceremony. Looking on is SickKids Fellow
Dr. Chantelle Browne-Farmer (back left) Bonnie Fleming-Caro (partly
hidden), Associate Chief of Nursing & Inter-professional
Education at SickKids (centre) and Dr. Upton Allen, Chief of the
Division of Infectious Diseases at SickKids.

About
CIBC FirstCaribbean

CIBC
FirstCaribbean is a relationship bank offering a full range of market
leading financial services through our Corporate and Investment
Banking, Retail and Business Banking and Wealth Management segments.
We are located in sixteen (16) countries around the Caribbean,
providing the banking services that fit our customers’ lives
through approximately 3,000 employees in 68 branches and offices. We
are one of the largest regionally listed financial services
institutions in the English and Dutch speaking Caribbean, with over
US$11 billion in assets and market capitalization of US $2 billion.
We also have an office in Hong Kong. The face of banking is changing
throughout the world and CIBC FirstCaribbean intends to lead these
changes with the expertise, integrity and knowledge gained from
banking in the Caribbean since 1836.

CIBC
FirstCaribbean is a member of the CIBC Group. CIBC is a leading
Canadian-based global financial institution with 11 million personal
banking and business clients. Through our three major business units
- Retail and Business Banking, Wealth Management and Capital Markets
- CIBC offers a full range of products and services through its
comprehensive electronic banking network, branches and offices
across Canada with offices in the United States and
around the world.

For
more information about CIBC FirstCaribbean, visit www.cibcfcib.com
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