Saint Lucia health delegation heads to Taiwan to attend training course

Castries, Saint Lucia: Saint Lucia health delegation headed to Taiwan to attend the inaugural ceremony of the training of trainers’ course.

“Relations between Saint Lucia and Taiwan have reached yet another milestone,” the ministry of health of social media noted.

5 health professionals are due to leave for Taiwan this September, Ambassador Peter Chen stated.

According to the update, a total of 15 trainers are expected to head to Taiwan over a three-year span, where they will be trained in the areas of Chronic Disease prevention and control.

The inauguration ceremony for the commencement of the course was held on Thursday August 11th at the Ministry of Health.

Project Manager, John Lin said personnel from different areas of health will be chosen to attend the training.

John Lin was quoted saying, “And today is very important – Also at the community levels.”

A 7-member delegation from the Cathay General Hospital met with the first 5 trainers, who are expected to leave this September. The group consists of Medical Officer – Dr Marlon Ragunanan, nurses Alexandra Jemmot and Jasmin Daniel, nutritionist Olivia Felix and the lead on the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, Nurse Yolanda Alcindor.

“This training we expect – Material for health education,” the project manager stated.

Dr Marlon Ragunanan, a former scholar of the I-Shou (E-sure) University of Taiwan, hipped praises on the quality of education offered by the friendly nation. He is lobbying the new approach, which includes establishing team and community-based methods of fighting the chronic illnesses, as per the update.

Dr Marlon Ragunanan – Seed Instructor, mentioned, “I believe that is the way to go, and with the assistance of our friends from Taiwan I hope that we can get the required knowledge to establish such a system of care in our local setting. Adopting some of the strategies that you have used and are using in Taiwan I’m sure can be very helpful and impact our current situation of metabolic diseases.”

The seed trainers, set to leave for Taiwan in September will meet a new curriculum, tailored to Saint Lucia and its needs.

Dr Lin Ching-Ling was part of a 7-member delegation from the Cathay General Hospital on island, assessing the island’s health needs.

Dr Ling – Cathay Hospital Representative, mentioned, “After this visit our team in Cathay General Hospital will organize a customized curriculum for the trainers to come to strengthen their capacity. I believe they will benefit from the tailored training program in Taiwan and achieve successful implementation after they return to your beautiful country.”

Taiwanese Ambassador, Peter Chia-Yen Chen says Saint Lucia and Taiwan continue to strengthen ties, this time in the area of healthcare. Ambassador Chen highlighted the activity as another milestone for the cooperation between the two countries.

Peter Chia-Yen Chen – Taiwanese Ambassador stated, as the implementing agency – longstanding commitment to Saint Lucia.

Minister for Health, Moses Jn Baptiste expressed extreme gratitude to all who made the venture possible.

Moses Jn Baptiste said, “I know that you’ve made tremendous sacrifices, all of our healthcare workers. Daily you make sacrifice for the people of St. Lucia. The government is proud of your dedication and the government is proud of your commitment. We know that your do not have everything that you need and we are trying our very best to give you what you need to do your work. We thank you for your work. We thank the government and people of Taiwan for the partnership. We thank you for all of what you do for us and all of what you help us with.”

According to the update, on completion of the training, work is expected to begin in regions 5, 6, 7 and 8. The seed trainers are expected to conduct a series of trainings and workshops with other health practitioners as the island continues its fight against NCD’s.