A New Era for Local Emergeny Medical Technologists
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Contact: Julita Peter
Friday, April 4, 2008 – The island's Emergency Medical Technology program has been rejuvenated, thanks to St. Lucian Greig Herman who saw the need to partner with sister regional agencies.
At a graduation ceremony held on Sunday March 30, at the Bay Gardens Hotel for participants in the EMT certification programme, endorsed by the University of the West Indies, Mr. Herman, an Emergency Medical Services Instructor, placed great importance on the need for the provision of professional training of local Emergency Medical Technicians.
“It was indeed a great honour” Herman said “for us to have this training exercise. We are very proud of our graduants. This program has come a long way and we are seeking to make it even bigger.”
Collaborator Dr. Aljay Pierre, says pre-hospital care is one of the deficient areas in health care. He commended the EMT's whose contribution, he says, have been underestimated. However he urged the EMT’s to guard against complacency.
“A lot of planning have gone into this programme, you need to ensure that you remain connected, as medical training is evolving,” Dr. Pierre remarked.
Secretary to the Cabinet of Ministers Cosmos Richardson, lauded the efforts of St. Lucia's Emergency Medical Services (EMS). Mr. Richardson sees Emergency Medical Services as a welcomed addition to the national effort, in improving mass causality and disaster response programmes.
Speaking at the graduation ceremony of the Emergency Medical Technicians, Mr. Richardson said EMS has set the benchmark for other professional services on the island.
“A lot has been said about our transition from an agricultural based to a tourism based economy and up to now when we speak about services in our economy we essentially speak about tourism, in some areas we speak of financial services, but I do not think we have explored the full potential that is available to us, in terms of our development as a services -oriented economy,” Richardson noted.
He said the island's Emergency Medical Services are setting the foundation for the potential that exists in the services sector.
The graduating EMT's also took the emergency technician oath at the ceremony - implemented in St. Lucia for the very first time. |
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