In the past 3 years, 1,500 healthcare professionals in the Caribbean have been further trained in
acute care with the cooperation of the Amsterdam UMC Academy. This unique project was
created through collaboration between the Dutch Caribbean Hospital Alliance (DCHA),
Amsterdam UMC Academy, and the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS). In addition, the
hospital trainers have formulated plans to make collaboration and training sustainable.
Within the CARIBHA project, almost 1,500 healthcare professionals, both caregivers and nurses, have
been trained in acute care since 2021. The training program allows the islands to respond adequately to
acute care situations, such as during a pandemic. The program included a broad package of task-
oriented training specifically aimed at Covid care, the Basic Acute Care Training (BAZ), clinical
reasoning, and further training for ER, IC, CCU nurse, diabetes nurse and nurse anesthetist.
At the request of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport, the CARIBHA project was initiated during the
Covid pandemic and financed with a subsidy of more than 2 million euros. Through close collaboration
between the hospitals in Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten and Saba and Amsterdam
UMC Academy, an enormous boost has been given to the quality of care in the Caribbean region and to
the professional development and employability of healthcare providers.
1,500 healthcare professionals trained in acute care by Caribbean Health Academy
