Public Health agenda for St Lucia

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Tapion Hospital is pleased to be partnering with Invest Saint Lucia, the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and the Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) to complement and work with other public and private healthcare providers and stakeholders to spotlight public health knowledge, technology and public health approaches.

“The health industry is ever evolving and we at Tapion Hospital recognize the need to move towards public-private partnerships in order to ensure the necessary synergy between the public and private arm of our Health Sector in Saint Lucia,” said a statement from the hospital. “This would aid in creatively bridging the gaps in resources while ensuring sustainability in technological innovation.”

Public health is the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals. Health is generally considered to be a state of optimal physical, mental and social well-being.

“Public health is not solely in the purview of Saint Lucian Government; it is an individual priority, a private sector priority and a public sector priority. The myriads of issues that impact on our health are mind-boggling!” the statement read. “There is no doubt that as we strive to improve public health we will have to address issues as diverse as finance, education, trade, medical services, governance, legislation, agriculture, creative arts, media, social transformation, crime and justice. Ultimately our health is a product of our genes and how we live.”

The most important asset in assuring better health is knowledge. Giving people information that allows them to modify their lifestyle using best practices and scientifically proven strategies including what foods to eat, how much exercise is necessary, how to stop the breeding of mosquitoes, how to raise children, how to look after pregnant women, how to keep the environment free of hazards and many more everyday situations that are important.  Ultimately good public health will be the product of an educated, motivated empowered citizenry.

Dr David Satcher, Director of Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Center of Excellence on Health Disparities at MSM is one of the speakers for the upcoming medical lecture, which will be held at the Gaiety from 7pm on Tuesday, May 28. His feature address will focus the topic: ‘The Role of Public Health in the Quest for Global Health Equity.’

Satcher will provide an educationally enriching presentation, which centers on a focused discussion of ethical leadership, public health issues that impact diverse communities, social determinants of global health, and strategies to promote health equity. He
will contextualize his remarks from the perspective of numerous years of public
health service, experiences of work in US government, various medical academic institutions, clinical practice, engagement in clinical and translational research, training of health policy leaders, and international studies. He is a dynamic
world-renowned thought
leader and scholar regarding health disparities; and he will bolster attention to relevant topics that impact the health and well-being of diverse individuals, families, and communities.

By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to discuss the mission and programs of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute at the Morehouse School of Medicine, define public health (according to the Institute of Medicine) and the implication of that definition for global health, examine disparities in health in the United States with this heterogeneous population, as well as global inequities in health, especially for children, and discuss the 2010 determinants of health and the World Health Organization Report on social determinants of health and examine the U.S. Affordable Care Act (ACA), Obama Care and its implications for global health.

Interested persons are asked to contact Taption Hospital for more
information.