A moving Thanksgiving Service for the life of Dr. Ricardo Baeza Carrion, Head of the Orthopaedic Department of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), was yesterday held at the institution’s the East Street tarmac.

Health Minister Dr. Leslie Ramasammy pays tribute to Dr. Baeza

During the approximate two-and-a-half hour proceedings, Dr. Baeza’s body was viewed as hundreds of mourners filed past the casket bearing his remains. Among these were

Minister of Health Dr. Leslie Ramsammy; Cuban Charge d’Affaires Pedro Arteaga Cardenas; Director of Professional Medical Services of the GPHC Dr. Madan Rambarran; Chief Executive Officer of the GPHC – Mr. Michael Khan, and others.

Also present were other dignitaries and scores of members of the public whose lives Dr. Baeza had touched.

Dr. Ricardo Baeza Carrion was born in Cuba on August 31, 1961 to Felicia Carrion and the late Ricardo Baeza. He graduated from the High Institute of Medical Sciences, Havana in 1985 and continued his studies.

He arrived in Guyana in 1984 and initially worked as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the Suddie Hospital in Essequibo. He was transferred to the GPH where he completed a two-year stint, returning to Cuba. In July 1976, he returned to Guyana when he became an employee of the then Public Hospital Georgetown in the capacity of Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. He was appointed the Head of Department – Orthopaedic Surgery, GPHC from July 2001and remained there up to the time of his death on New Year’s Eve , 2008.

Meanwhile, Dr. Madan Rambarran, on behalf of the administration of the GPHC, expressed sadness at the death of Dr. Baeza added that during the years he had worked with the institution, the management and staff had all come to love him, recognizing his compassion and significant contribution to the profession here.

Dr. Rambarran recalled that during Dr. Baeza’s stint as head of the Orthopaedic Department, the Hospital had seen several developments, including the implementation of training programmes to better equip Orthopaedic doctors and support staff. “For all these things we will miss him,” he asserted.

And Minister of Health, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy noted that Dr. Ricardo was truly a family member in the health sector. “As a family, we have lost one of our respected and loved ones,” he declared.

The remains of Dr. Ricardo Baeza Carrion, who died tragically in a car accident in the city on Old Year’s Night, was scheduled to be flown out of Guyana at midnight last night, for interment in his homeland.

He is survived by his wife Tania, two daughters, mother Felicia (Suzie), and brothers.