Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Dr. Michael Darville.
Chairman Andrew Edwards and members of the PHA Board.
Managing Director of the Public Hospitals Authority, Dr. Aubynette Rolle and the Executive Team.
Faculty, invited guests, proud families.
And most importantly, our seventy-eight graduands.
Good morning.
Today is a proud moment for our nation. It is a moment about you, your families, and the future of healthcare in The Bahamas.
This ceremony marks the beginning of your service.
Service to people. Service to country. Service rooted in skill, compassion, and commitment.
Three years ago, the PHA Academy was created with one clear purpose:
to invest in our people.
We wanted to give Bahamians real opportunities – opportunities to learn, to grow, to expand your education, and to build meaningful careers.
Opportunities to upskill, so you can better serve patients and strengthen our healthcare system.
Under Dr. Rolle’s leadership, the Academy has delivered on this promise.
More than 160 Bahamians from seven Family Islands have been trained.
Hundreds of employees have been upskilled.
Today, the success of the Academy is seen in each of you:
- 32 Trained Clinical Nurses
- 16 Pharmacy Technicians
- 9 Emergency Medical Technicians
- 14 Medical Billing and Coding graduates
You represent the frontline. You represent accuracy and safety. You represent rapid response. You represent efficient systems.
Together, you strengthen the backbone of our public health service.
Your technical training is essential.
But the heart of healthcare remains empathy. When patients enter PMH, the Rand, Sandilands, or a community clinic, they come with fear, uncertainty, and hope.
How you speak to them, how you comfort them, how you explain what comes next – this makes all the difference.
Let compassion guide your skill.
Let kindness guide your professionalism.
Let humanity guide your service.
Your journey does not end today.
Healthcare is constantly changing.
New challenges, new technologies, new expectations.
So you must keep learning.
You must keep growing.
This is why the PHA is expanding access to new programs – Post-Basic Renal Nursing, Surgical Technology, and Emerging Leadership.
We want every Bahamian – current staff and future cohorts – to have a pathway to progress.
No one should be left behind.
Because when you grow, our health system grows.
When you advance, The Bahamas advances.
President Barack Obama once said, “We are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”
And today, you prove that to be true.
You are the investment.
You are the opportunity.
You are the change.
Class of 2025 – congratulations!
Serve with excellence. Serve with compassion. Serve with pride.
May God bless each of you.
And may God bless the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.