First Week end

So, I arrived in St Croix about 7p or so Saturday night. My real estate agent, now we'll just call her Michelle and her boyfriend John picked me up at the airport. Michelle is a cardiac nurse and John is a physician here. Sooo nice, both of them. We stopped at the grocery so I could have a few things at the apartment to eat. My apartment is so cute. All the floors are ceramic tile, rattan furniture, very islandy. I just kind of vegged last night, I was very tired.

Today Michelle and John picked me up and we had brunch, I had lobster benedict and mimosa's. After brunch we went to the beach where I met two other travel nurses Richard from Texas who works in the ED and Suzanne from Florida works in the OR. After the beach we toured the island. There is a castle on the wealthy side of the island that was built by a member of the british royalty, they are in residence when the flag is up.

The Kennedy family has a beautiful home here as well as multiple other wealthy folks. Michelle and Richard are teaching me about the Crucian culture. It is very important that you say good morning, good afternoon or good evening before beginning a conversation or simply entering a room or passing someone or the locals are offended.

Oh, funny fact: On my first flight from Dayton to Philadelphia the man seated across the aisle was originally from St Croix. He hasn't been home for about 3 years but his mother and father still live here. I gave him my email address and told him if he gave me their address I would visit them. How ironic.

Taste of St Croix

Look what I found! I will be at this event!

Thursday, April 15th, 2010 is the tenth anniversary of the largest culinary competition in the Caribbean: A Taste of St. Croix. Over 55 restaurants from St. Croix will compete (judged by celebrity chefs from USA), more than 1000 locals and visitors will sample wines (Hmmmm!) from around the world and the culture of St. Croix. One event is called the Cork & Fork where dinner is prepared by celebrity chefs. Another event, Wine in the Warehouse is right up by alley.

The Island Way

I am getting used to the island way. It is Tuesday 5:08pm and I am still waiting for my Thursday am flight itinerary. In the meantime, I have located Namaste Cafe that offers free WiFi and a variety of coffee (coffee's not free). That makes me feel a little better about communicating with my friends and family. I will be there often until I get my own island wireless account and local cell phone.

Can you tell I'm impressed by this surgeon as a healthcare team member as well as human being

Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson

I feel blessed to be working with this individual and hope I can contribute to his vision.

Living under the adage, “Success is a journey, not a destination,” Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson ’01 has done more in the eight years since he graduated from Ross University School of Medicine than most people do in a lifetime.
Specializing in adult cardiac surgery and general thoracic surgery, Dr. deGraft-Johnson also has experience in ventricular assist devices, transplants, minimal invasive surgery and hyperhidrosis. He recently completed a five-year cardiothoracic fellowship at the University of Minnesota – Lillehei Heart Institute; is co-founder of Project Reach, a nonprofit charitable organization with expert volunteer heart surgeons and other medical providers responsible for providing health services to the South Saharan community; is currently working with a team of experts to help restructure the healthcare system in the U.S. Virgin Islands; and is also heavily involved in a project to build a state-of-the-art hospital in Ghana, West Africa.
Born and raised in Ghana until he was nine years old, Dr. deGraft-Johnson considers the building of Sankofa International Hospital to be his “life’s work.”
“This project has been many years in the making,” he said. “What we’re hoping to do is develop an international medical center that will not only serve the people of Ghana, but will also help to dispel the “brain drain” that happens in developing countries when the bright, young people leave to be educated elsewhere and don’t return because the infrastructure isn’t there to support them.” According to Dr. deGraft-Johnson, huge numbers of Ghanaian physicians have immigrated to other places who would welcome the opportunity to give back to their community if the infrastructure was in place for them to do so.
“Once the hospital is built, doctors will be able to go back to Ghana and practice,” he said. “We’ll then select one student from each of Ghana’s nine major regions and train them so that they can go back and practice in their hometowns. That’s where another organization I’m involved with, MicroClinics, comes in.”By providing the resources to provide basic essential health services to rural communities, MicroClinics will serve as the “missing link” in the chain that will create a sustainable healthcare system, according to Dr. deGraft-Johnson. “MicroClinics will build the clinics that will in turn support individuals who return to their home regions,” he explained.
“This is a huge commitment but when you look at the world and see what is happening in Africa in particular, it doesn’t take long to put two and two together and realize that something needs to be done,” he said.
Dr. deGraft-Johnson noted that growing up in Ghana and his experience at Ross University opened his eyes to social issues in healthcare.
“I grew up in a place where accessibility to healthcare is scarce. I saw a lot of preventable illnesses needlessly claim the lives of a lot of people. So pursuing a career in medicine was something I wanted to do from an early age,” he said. “Ross was a great opportunity for me. When everyone else said no, Ross said yes and allowed me to pursue my dream.” However, the road to becoming a physician was anything but easy, he noted.
“Now when you say ‘Ross University’ everyone knows what you’re talking about, but that wasn’t the case back then. When we started our rotations we felt that we had to prove that we could compete on the same level as the U.S. students,” he explained. “We worked hard. We were the first ones in and the last ones out. A lot of the things that the U.S. students took for granted we didn’t because we knew we were privileged and had been given a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
“A lot of people just have their eye on the journey,” he said. “What they have to realize is that every single step you take to get there should be enjoyed. Each experience that you go through will help elevate you to the next level. In the end, your performance will speak for itself, so don’t get caught up in the little things.”

Dr de Graft Johnson Update

More 50 cent information

Dr. de Graft-Johnson experienced one of those stark turnarounds during the last year of a cardiothoracic fellowship, when he served on the trauma unit of a Queens, NY, hospital. That day he recalls that a patient with multiple gunshot wounds was left on the steps of the emergency room.
Working with the team, he helped to save the life of a young man who would go on to become a popular rapper. After the incident, deGraft-Johnson’s friends heard about his surgery on someone with an "inexpensive" name. His buddies laughed about the unusual name. “They were—who? What? A quarter? Twenty cents?” But it wasn’t long before the object of their humor—and deGraft Johnson’s emergency procedure—went on to fame and glory, with a huge dose of “street cred” for toughing out that blaze of bullets.

Communication

I just found out that I can't use my current phone, phone service, wireless modem etc while in the Virgin Islands, so.........more than likely I will have minimal contact with my friends and family for a couple of weeks after my arrival. In between settling in to my apartment, working and finding a new internet and cellular provider I'm expecting at the most a lack of communication for two weeks. I pray it's no longer than that! So, even if you don't hear from me, know I am thinking of you and that I am safe. My son Jordon and pseudo daughter in law Audrey are listed as emergency contacts for me and if you don't hear from them you can assume that I am safe! Please sign up on my blog if you want updates from them in the meantime.

Dr. degraft Johnson

Impressive but also scarry for me. This is the surgeon that I will be working with.

A team of doctors at Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital Tuesday performed the first open-heart surgery in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The hospital's cardiac surgeon, Dr. Moses deGraft-Johnson, his brother, John deGraft Johnson, and a team of highly trained physicians and nurses performed the surgery on a female patient from St. Croix, according to a news release from the hospital. The release did not give the patient’s name, nor did it specify what type of cardiac procedure was performed. Hospital board chairman Dr. Valdemar Hill Jr. said of Tuesday’s operation, “This is a very exciting, trailblazing time for us. It is a milestone for sure.”The patient’s primary physician, Dr. Dante Galiber, said he was pleased that his patient did not have to leave the territory to obtain treatment.DeGraft-Johnson, a heart specialist in cardiovascular and thoracic procedures, led the surgical team which was comprised of physicians and nurses from Luis Hospital and a visiting team from the University of Minnesota's Lillehei Heart Institute. The Luis Hospital staff includes cardiac surgeon deGraft-Johnson; Dr..Dante Galiber, director of the Progressive Care Unit; Dr. Kendall Griffith, director of the V.I. Cardiac Center; and Dr. Michael Potts, chief of Cardiology.According to the release, the hospital is prepared to offer such procedures as cardiac rehabilitation, coronary angioplasty and stenting, coronary and peripheral angiography and intervention, cardiac catheterization, coronary artery bypass surgery, pacemaker implants, and implantation of cardiac defibrillators. According to deGraft-Johnson, patients with lung cancer and severe trauma, along with heart disease can be treated with the newly acquired technology at the Gov. Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center. The deGraft Johnson brothers are Ghanaians raised in Houston by a couple that also boasts a Midwife for a daughter, and another son in medical school. It is a long-standing dream of Dr. Moses deGraft Johnson’s, whose operating room skills saved the life of famous Rapper 50 Cents, to return home one day to do for Ghana what he is currently doing for other countries.