SMGH Construction As SMGH construction activities commenced again after being halted due to the pandemic, the Communications Department assisted in staff and stakeholder information sessions and publishing several press releases. Additionally, periodic social media postings and updating of the SMGH section on SMMC’s website were part of this effort.
facilities etc. and advises management on contractual matters. The Legal Department updated the contract templates for the HR department and the Medical Staff Bureau in 2020. The department has researched software to establish a contract register in order to file the hospital’s contracts in a central database: this project has not been finalized in 2020. A database of applicable laws was established in cooperation with the Inspectorate of Public Health.
Corporate Governance The legal counsel, as Secretary of the Board of Directors, continued to advise on and facilitate the decision-making process of the Board of Directors and ensured the compilation of management reports.
SMGH
LEGAL General The Legal Department of SMMC deals with all legal matters of the hospital including the handling of complaints and claims. The Legal department consists of a legal counsel and a legal assistant. The legal counsel is the complaint officer of SMMC as well as the Secretary of the Board of Directors.
COVID-19 In 2020, SMMC was confronted with the COVID-19 pandemic. The legal counsel, as part of the Outbreak Management Team, was involved in crisis management discussions with the governments of St. Maarten and the Netherlands, the hospitals in the Dutch Caribbean and the World Bank/National Recovery Program Bureau.
Since December 2018, the construction company for the new hospital building, INSO, has been involved in a so-called Extraordinary Administrative Procedure (EAP) in Italy, a procedure to protect a company with financial issues from its creditors. In November 2020, INSO announced the takeover of INSO assets, organization and the current projects, including the SMGH construction project, to the Fincantieri Group. The legal counsel has been and will be supporting in the discussions - between SMMC, the consortium of Lenders, INSO and Fincantieri - pertaining to this matter. Coordination takes place with lawyers from St. Maarten, Curacao and Italy. For the execution phase, the legal counsel advises on legal matters such as compliance to the grant agreement and reviewing contracts to be signed for the different projects. The new hospital project and signed agreements will be monitored on legal aspects.
Grievance Mechanism SMGH In 2018, the SMMC signed a grant agreement with the World Bank (WB) to receive a USD 25 million grant from the St. Maarten Recovery,
Contracts The Legal Department reviews all contracts regarding HR, consultants, medical specialists,
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