The Poinciana Rehabilitation Centre is looking into the possibility of some of its facility being used for mental health care tourism.
The centre, which opened in December last year and is Cayman’s first long-term mental health facility, currently houses Caymanians who have been repatriated from institutions in Jamaica, individuals transferred there from the Anthony S. Eden Hospital in George Town, or others referred by the courts.
But rooms at Poinciana, which, when fully open can accommodate 54 residents across its nine cottages, eventually also may be available to people visiting the Cayman Islands.
Dr. Marc Lockhart, Poinciana’s consultant psychiatrist and programme manager, said the facility was considering using “one or two of our cottages for a medical-tourism-type” intakes.
He noted that this idea had come from “experiences that many of us, as long-standing providers here, have seen through the years”.
Though the concept of establishing a long-term mental health facility had been touted for decades, it really began taking shape following the creation of an outline business case by consultancy firm KPMG in 2016. The prospect of accepting individuals on short-term stays from overseas was included in that plan, following feedback from Lockhart and other professionals, he explained.
“There has been a pattern that I, for one, have seen for 20-something years, that not a Christmas goes by that I don’t have one or two patients [from overseas],” he said, adding that those individuals, often with a serious mental illness, come with their families for a vacation, “and things happen”.
“They may have a crisis, or they may need to be hospitalised,” he said. “And they’ve said, ‘You know what? This is such a wonderful place, you have this beautiful weather 300 days a year, we’ve come from Ohio or Illinois or someplace like that, and it would be so wonderful if we could bring our family member and have a place to stay for 10 days or two weeks. That we could bring them and they could have this level of care there.’”
He added, “We’ve seen that time and time again.”
As a result of this feedback, he said, KPMG’s outline business case included accepting overseas residents for short-term stays as a potential additional revenue option.
“And that is a major focus that we are going to be looking forward to,” Lockhart said, during an interview with Compass Media prior to an open day event on 10 Oct., World Mental Health Day, at Poinciana, at which the public was invited to tour the facilities.
Respite care for locals
And it’s not just overseas individuals with mental health issues that may stay at the cottages, each of which can house up to six people. Poinciana is also looking into adding short-term respite care for local residents.
“There are also families here on island that have loved ones that they are able to care for, for the most part, that have chronic-type … neurological illnesses, such as certain types of dementia [or] other chronic mental health issues, that can be a bit challenging for family members,” Lockhart said.
“And although they’re able to provide the care, at times, the family needs a little bit of respite, or they may need to travel. I’ve seen situations … where people say, ‘We can’t go to a wedding in the UK because we can’t leave Mom.’”
He said if Poinciana can provide a two-week stay here for those individuals, with their insurance covering the cost, “it would take the burden off of that family member, and it would provide us with a certain amount of revenue to help develop our service.”
Lockhart, who also heads up the Poinciana Mental Health Advisory Council, noted that bringing in additional revenue is important, as many of the residents at the facility are indigent and their stay at Poinciana is funded by government.
“We cannot rely on that alone in order for this facility to reach its full potential,” he said.
The Ministry of Health and Wellness and the advisory council has met with local insurers, including the government insurance company CINICO, to show that Poinciana is a “world-class facility,” Lockhart said.
Noting that the centre had received the Mental Health Design Award at the European Healthcare Design Awards 2025, he said, “We are rapidly fulfilling the mandate to make sure that the programming is just as robust and comprehensive, and that we are ready and willing to compete with any facility, whether it be in Miami, California or Canada.”
He added, “We have the weather, we have the technology, we have the wherewithal, we have the skills here.”
