Nephrologist Steps Down After 30 Years Building Kidney Care in USVI

A kidney specialist who spent three decades establishing and expanding dialysis services throughout the US Virgin Islands has announced his retirement, seizing the opportunity to urge government officials and residents to elevate healthcare in their priorities.

The physician arrived on St. Croix in January 1995 to lead a dialysis unit at Juan F. Luis Hospital and Medical Center. The facility was not federally certified at the time and relied on funding from the U.S. Department of the Interior. Within five months, he secured CMS certification for the centre.

Over the next 30 years, he founded and ran the territory's first independently operated dialysis facility on St. Croix, followed by another on St. Thomas. He worked alongside local physicians and collaborated with the Government of the Virgin Islands, the Department of Health, the Legislature, hospital systems, patient transport organisations, and skilled tradespeople to develop kidney care infrastructure across both islands.

In announcing his departure from nephrology, the physician reflected on his career as "the most challenging and rewarding" of his professional life. He expressed pride in serving residents with kidney disease and in contributing to what he called "a lasting mark on the Territory's healthcare infrastructure."

Now in his late seventies, he said stepping away from the field, though difficult, is the right time.

His closing remarks to elected officials were unambiguous: "Please make healthcare the priority it deserves to be." He called on Virgin Islanders to hold their government accountable on health matters and to consider healthcare when voting in upcoming elections. "The Virgin Islands can and must do better for its people," he wrote.