The Tobago Regional Health Authority (TRHA) has appointed a Medical Chief of Staff (MCOS) in the person of Dr Rufaro Celestine. Dr Celestine assumed duty at the Scarborough General Hospital (SGH) on January 2nd, 2019.
Dr Celestine has been a fully registered member of the Medical Board of Trinidad and Tobago, since 1989, and is a member of their Specialist Register in Public Health Medicine. She is also certified in Paediatrics and Dermatology.
Dr Celestine graduated in 1987 from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. Following her internships at the St. Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny, Ireland and the Port of Spain General Hospital in Trinidad, she embarked on a career in Hospital Paediatrics, which included stints at the Scarborough Regional Hospital in Tobago and the Augustus Long Hospital at Petrotrin. Her interest in Public Health led her to return to Ireland to work with Dublin’s Eastern Regional Health Authority in Community and Public Health Medicine, during which time she pursued a Master in Public Health Medicine at the University College Dublin and a Higher Diploma in Medicine in the field of Dermatology. Dr Celestine went on to assume the position of Project Coordinator for the Royal College of Physicians in Ireland before returning to Trinidad in 2004 when she established St. Raphael’s Health Services Ltd., a medical centre in Point Fortin.
Of her appointment, Dr Celestine had this to say, “I look forward to working with the excellent staff of the Scarborough General Hospital in order to provide a more efficient patient-centred hospital service.”
Dr Celestine was born in Zimbabwe but spent her formative years in the USA, UK and Swaziland and became a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago in 2012. She is married to Rudolph Celestine and enjoys playing sports (squash, tennis, golf and swimming), reading, music and travel.
The TRHA welcomes Dr Celestine to the organization and to the beautiful island of Tobago, and looks forward to working with her to continuously improve the level of healthcare provided at the SGH.