CAY HILL:--- The Positive and Elektralyets Foundations recently presented a painting to the IV Therapy Suite of the Outpatient department of the St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC). The painting will serve as a beacon of hope for the patients receiving treatment while at the same time appreciating the mutually beneficial partnership with SMMC.
The foundations commissioned the passionate islander artist Tessel Verheij, affectionately known as Tes to paint this commemorative and inspirational piece. Tes has many years of experience in art education and workshops. With the opening of Waste Factory, she has devoted her time to enforcing education around environmental awareness by creating ways we can reuse and reduce our clean waste by repurposing and creating beautifully handmade souvenirs and functional designs. She is located at the Artcraftcafe Gallery on Frontstreet #209 (upstairs from the Great Bay Beach House), Philipsburg.
The painting with shades of blue and pink, the colors representing prostate and breast cancer awareness, portrays the pink and blue ribbons and an image of a person holding their head up. More importantly, it features an encouraging message written by Helen Keller, which reads “HOPE sees the INVISIBLE, FEELS the INTANGIBLE, and ACHIEVES the IMPOSSIBLE.” The artist ensured that the piece of art is protected with resin so that it can endure the thorough cleaning protocols of SMMC. There is also an added feature. The painting glows when fluorescent light is projected on it.
The collaboration with the St. Maarten Medical Center started in 2011 with the offer of free mammograms to uninsured women in St. Maarten. The cost of mammograms for uninsured women is shared equally between the foundations and SMMC. In 2019, an innovative and creative Man Up Check Up Prostate Cancer awareness campaign was launched with the support of the late Nurse Danielle Meerzorg, Dr. Ramos, and Dr. Rojas, urologists at SMMC. The St. Maarten Medical Center has supported the Foundation's annual prostate and breast cancer campaigns by hosting free prostate and breast cancer screenings.
SMMC and the Positive and Elektralyets Foundations are hosting a Women’s Health Day on October 15th, 2022, from 9 am to 3 pm at SMMC. On that day women can get a free clinical breast examination and a voucher for free mammograms, if warranted, for uninsured women. Other preventative free health screenings geared towards general health awareness will also be offered.
In 2022, The Positive and Elektralyets Foundations, in addition to organizing a series of events for Prostate and Breast Cancer for September and October, have partnered with the St. Maarten Laboratory Services to offer free prostate-specific antigen tests (PSA) to uninsured men over the age of 40 years old. The foundations hope that the partnership with St. Maarten Medical Center (SMMC) and St. Maarten Laboratory Services (SLS) will continue to increase general health awareness for the benefit of men and women of St. Maarten.
