The Ministry of Public Health Social Development & Labor Section General Public Health recently held a brainstorming session in collaboration with the St. Maarten Medical Center, St. Maarten Nurses Association and the White & Yellow Cross Foundation where they addressed World Health Organization’s question of "Are health workers in St. Maarten adequately trained to address the rights and specific needs of older people."
Minister Cornelius De Weever was part of the brainstorming session and mentioned that"It was good to hear first-hand about the experiences from those in the field that actually deal with the elderly."
The above mentioned activity was part of a series of activities on the island to commemorate World Health Day 2012, of which the theme was "Good health adds life to years." During the brainstorming session, participants had to address the following two areas for St. Maarten, which were: the involvement of the aging in the community and are health workers adequately trained on St. Maarten to address the rights and specific needs of older people.
The brainstorming session looked at the challenges, and what can be done to solve the issues at hand, in addition, it was an opportunity to learn from each other, identify weak areas and see how collectively those areas can be strengthened. The main objective is to educate stakeholders toward the direction of improving health for the aging and the community.
"Many of us do not know the reality of the way some of our elderly live, whether it’s the living conditions, family relationships or the lack thereof. By synchronizing our efforts with all stakeholders I believe we can better serve our elderly," said Minister De Weever.