New permanent Neurologist stationed at SMMC
SMMC welcomed a new permanent Neurologist to its team while expanding its Neurology services at the Hospital. Dr. Maria del Carmen Marques Casasnova is the new face who hails from Ciutadella, Spain. She joined the SMMC team a few weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dr. Marques holds a degree in Neurology and has been practicing as a General Neurologist in various hospitals in Barcelona, Mallorca and Menorca for many years. In 2019 Dr. Marques decided to pursue yet another degree in Tropical Neurology and Infectious Diseases at the International University of Catalonia in Spain.
When she was asked about her reasons for moving to St. Maarten Dr. Marques responded, “My personal circumstances allowed me to be able to take on this new professional challenge. Some of the issues we see on the island are strokes, dementia, epilepsy, headaches, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease and my goal is to be able to contribute to the neurological care and well-being of patients on the island and trying to reduce the number of off-island referrals whenever possible. I am also very excited that SMMC now has an EEG machine and an EMG machine to be able to further aid in the treatment of local patients”.
The EEG machines help neurologists and neurology diagnostic technicians diagnose epilepsy, sleeping disorders, strokes, tumors, diminished levels of consciousness and other brain disorders and can be used during surgery to gauge the depth of anesthesia. Also helpful is the EMG machine which helps to evaluate and record activity in the skeletal muscle and can be used to detect abnormalities such as motor control disorders or neuromuscular diseases. .
SMMC is proud to have Dr. Marques in service and urges patients interested in a consultation to make an appointment by calling the Outpatient Department at: Tel: +(1-721) 543-1111 ext. 1378 or 1379. Appointments can be made from Mondays thru Fridays between 8:00 am – 4:30 pm. SZV patients are requested to obtain a referral letter from their family doctor.
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