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Heartline Magazine July - September 2005
ECC Conference a success
The fourth Annual Caribbean Conference on Emergency Cardiac
Care, which was held at the Grand Barbados Beach Resort from 17th to 19th June
2005, was a resounding success. Hosted by the Heart Foundation of Barbados
(HFOB) in association with the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF) and the
American Heart Association (AHA) the major event brought together doctors,
nurses, paramedics, medical and nursing students and other emergency care
practitioners from throughout the Caribbean, USA, Central and South America, in
an initiative aimed at improving training and practice of health care in the
field of resuscitation and intensive care.
A total of 130 persons registered for the main conference,
37 for Advanced Cardiac Life Support Training, 50 for Basic Life Support for the
Health Care Provider, 4 for Paediatric First Aid Instructor, 19 for the Advocacy
and Capacity Building Workshop and 22 for Paediatric First Aid Provider.
The Advocacy and Capacity Building Workshop, which was held
on the final day of the conference, was a special all-day interactive session
conducted by the InterAmerican Heart Foundation, and was aimed at the advocacy
and promotion of health related initiatives (including ECC) in the region.
According to Dr. Brian Charles, programme director of the of
the Heart Foundation of Barbados’ Emergency Cardiac Care programme, “Heart
diseases and stroke are the number one cause of premature death in Latin America
and the Caribbean. We are faced with an epidemic of obesity, sedentarism and
tobacco use while conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and dislipidemia are
also increasing and go frequently uncontrolled. All are important risk factors
for heart diseases and stroke. Though we know much about how to prevent heart
diseases and stroke, for numerous reasons remarkably little is being done. Many
times governments do not dedicate sufficient funds, people are apathetic, and
the media does not provide the needed attention. Our response to the problem is
disproportionately small in comparison with the burden we face.”
The practical and interactive Advocacy Workshop effectively
examined ways to organize, plan and act so that the media will pay more
attention, governments will increase their support, and the public will stand
behind the cause.
Presentations were made by a number of outstanding
physicians and administrators, including Dr. Beatriz Champagne, executive
director of the IAHF, Mr. Chuck Mullins, director, ECC International Programmes,
AHA, Mrs. Deborah Chen, general manager of the Heart Foundation of Jamaica, Dr.
Harold Watson, director of the National Resuscitation Council (NRC ) of
Barbados, and Prof. Trevor Hassell, president of the InterAmerican Heart Foundation.
Participants at the conference, who ranged from medical and
paramedical persons to policy makers in the region, benefited from exposure to
new and novel topics, shared methods of improving care of the ill and
resuscitation, and underwent vital training and certification. All these
activities will serve to improve the overall standard of health care
particularly management of emergencies throughout the region.
The mandate of the InterAmerican Heart Foundation is to
promote an environment throughout the Americas conducive to the reduction of
morbidity and mortality from cardiovascular diseases and stroke, also to
facilitate the development and growth of Heart Foundations, their role in public
and professional education, public advocacy and fund raising. The IAHF also is
very active in fostering partnerships between health professionals and other
sectors of society including business and government for the accomplishment of
its mission.
Next year’s ECC Conference is scheduled to be held in St.
Lucia.
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