KRALENDIJK – The three commissioners of Bonaire, Nina den Heyer, Hennyson Thielman and James Kroon, are in favor of keeping the BonLab laboratory open.

The commissioners believe that our island should not be dependent on just one laboratory, because this would make the island vulnerable. The commissioners also put forward this point of view in a meeting with State Secretary Maarten Van Ooijen of Public Health, Welfare and Sport.

The position of the deputies follows the threat of closure of the laboratory after the Health Insurance Office (ZVK) announced that it wanted to terminate the healthcare contract with the lab as of January first 2023.

Holding

BonLab is owned by the Public Entity Bonaire (OLB), as a subsidiary of the Bonaire Holding Maatschappij. The Executive Council is concerned about the strong dependence on one single healthcare provider who has everything in one hand. This, according to the ExCo, may cause situations such as recently with the pharmacies, where waiting times increased enormously.