The tranquil island of Salt Cay will be the venue for a Stress Prevention and Management in Disasters and Emergencies workshop next week. The workshop will be run by the National Health Emergency Management Unit in partnership with the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence and Emergency Medical Services.
The National Health Emergency Management Unit (NHEMU) within the Ministry of Health, Agriculture and Human Services is responsible for the coordination of activities designed to prepare for, monitor, mitigate and respond to natural and manmade disasters and emergency situations that could overwhelm the health sector.
The unit, working in partnership with other organizations, aims to prevent diseases and disasters, to reduce the vulnerability of the population to any disaster, to respond effectively and efficiently to the actual occurrence of disasters and to provide for recovery in the aftermath of any emergency involving debilitating influence on the normal pattern of life within the community. Systems are put in place to evaluate the level of risk, vulnerability, available resources including human, financial, material and equipment and other factors relating to preparation and response to an emergency/ disaster.
It is against this background, that the Stress Prevention and Management in Disasters and Emergencies workshop will be held.
This workshop will be conducted as part of the National Health Emergency Management Unit’s preparedness for the hurricane season and other emergency situations that essential services and emergency workers may have to deal with.
The target audience for the workshop at this time includes our health care professionals, District Administration, Fire, Police, Public Works Department and Key Community persons. The workshop will take place in Salt Cay on Monday 29 February, 2016 at 10:00am.
The Objectives of the Workshop are as follows:
1. To increase the knowledge level of emergency responders on Stress management in Disasters and Emergencies.
2. To provide strategies that will help to promote the prevention and management of Stress during Disasters and emergencies.
Our facilitators are Dr Patrick Prince, Clinical Psychologist in the Department of Mental Health and Substance Dependence and Mr Delwin Ferguson the Director of Medical Emergency Services.
Taking into consideration that the World Health Organization has declared the ZIKA virus a Public Health Emergency of International concern, we will also have a special presentation on Mosquito Borne Diseases by the Environmental Health department during this workshop.
