Governor Bryan Signs Landmark Bill to Create Chronic Disease Registry in the USVI

The Territorial Chronic Kidney Disease, Stroke and Diabetes Registry will soon become a reality, after Governor Albert Bryan Jr. signed Bill 35-0207 into law.  The legislation mandating the registry’s creation moved swiftly through the Senate, coming to the floor in February in the Committee on Health, Hospitals and Human Services. Backed by Health Commissioner Justa Encarnacion and other public health officials, the bill, sponsored by Senator Ray Fonseca, received a few tweaks to its funding mechanism in the Committee Appropriations, Budget, and Finance when that committee met in March. The scope of the registry was also expanded to include the tracking of stroke data, and within weeks it was on the governor’s desk for signing.  “Recognizing that our Territory has an increasing number of persons living with chronic diseases, I am supportive of any measure serving to identify those residents and link them to care,” Governor Bryan said. “The Disease registry created by Bill No. 35-0...