Organisers
of the annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference have announced
that the popular event will happen this year but on a smaller scale
due to the restrictions surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The
Conference, which is usually a three-day affair, will take place for
one day only on Saturday, 17 October 2020 as a virtual event.
Viewers will be able to participate in the live sessions via video
and audio conferencing as well as watch the presentations on the C.I.
Government’s YouTube channel.

The
theme for this year’s Conference is “Re-envisioning Life with a
Pandemic”. Topics such as mental health, telemedicine, best
practices for today’s new normal will provide a roadmap for the way
forward both during and post pandemic. How all of these elements play
a role in the common goal of keeping our communities safe and
functioning will resonate with all attendees. In addition, some of
the sessions will feature personal stories from various groups within
the community,
such as seniors, youth, healthcare and other essential frontline
workers, educators and persons with chronic health conditions.
These individuals will reflect on their experiences and how their
lives have been affected and impacted by the pandemic.

Each
year the event attracts over 1200 attendees from various sectors of
the community, including medical,
small/medium business owners, parents, human resource managers,
insurance company representatives, fitness and wellness
professionals, and members of the general public who are interested
in their health.

“The
Healthcare Conference has been a permanent fixture on many people’s
annual calendars for the past ten years and I am so pleased that we
are able to find a way to ensure the event goes ahead this year,
despite the challenges we as a country are facing,” said Hon.
Dwayne Seymour, Minister for Health, Environment, Culture and
Housing. “Now more than ever, as we press forward through one of
the worst public health crises of our lifetimes, we are all seeking
opportunities for dialogue, debate, to inspire and educate while
sharing our experiences over the last few months. The Healthcare
Conference will provide a forum to do just that and I trust that the
public will take advantage of the chance to engage with some of the
industry’s leading professionals and with one another as we work
together to understand the way forward.”

Lizzette
Yearwood, Chair of the Conference Planning Committee and CEO of the
Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, echoed the Minister’s
sentiments.

“Even
though we have had to adjust the way we will deliver the 11th
Annual Healthcare Conference, we sense and appreciate the
significance of making the decision to host this event this year.
Many people view the Conference as a time to increase their
knowledge base, ask the experts, and perhaps set some personal and
professional goals as it relates to health. In addition, our themes
each year have always been timely and appropriate to the issues that
are trending at that time,” said Ms. Yearwood.

“This
year’s focus – “Re-envisioning Life in a Pandemic” – is not
only important and relevant but urgent and quite personal for
everyone as the Cayman Islands, and indeed the world, navigates its
way in this

new
normal. Life has been altered significantly by COVID 19, and it is
imperative that people are given the tools and support in order to
adapt to an existence that may include the movement of a dangerous
virus throughout the community and the world for an extended period
of time. As
always, we look forward to enlightening presentations from dynamic
speakers that will provide facts, options and for some, a measure of
comfort.”

The
11th
annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference is sponsored by the
Ministry of Health, Health City Cayman Islands, the Cayman Islands
Health Services Authority and Kelly Holding Ltd.

Registration
for the conference will open in September. The event is free and open
to the public and Continuing Medical Education (CME) certificates
will be available for each presentation.

For
more information on the conference and sponsorship opportunities
available, visit www.healthcareconference.ky
or contact Laurie-Ann Holding on laurieann@kellyholding.com or 1
(345) 623.8824.