Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine to Host Second Annual Conference in Sint Maarten

International gathering of experts to focus on healthcare preparedness in the face of hurricanes and other disasters

Oct. 22 2019 -- Medical and disaster planning experts from around the globe are set to converge in Sint Maarten for the 2020 International Conference on Disaster Medicine and Hurricane Resiliency.

The three-day conference, held March 26-29, 2020, is hosted by the Caribbean Center for Disaster Medicine (CCDM) at American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine medical sciences campus in Sint Maarten. Organized by the CCDM, a collaboration between AUC and Harvard Medical Faculty Physicians at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Inc., the event draws international disaster and healthcare stakeholders.

This year's conference keynote speaker is Dr. Greg Ciottone, an American physician specializing in disaster medicine and counter-terrorism medicine. He is an associate professor of emergency medicine at Harvard Medical School, director of the Division of Disaster Medicine at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and President of the World Association for Disaster and Emergency Medicine.

"Disasters leave communities struggling with very basic necessities, such as access to critical healthcare services. With this in mind, the CCDM was formed to increase collaboration across the Caribbean and among global experts in disaster medicine," said Mark Quirk, Ed.D., executive director of the CCDM. "This conference is an important opportunity to bring together people from multiple professional and academic fields to share insights and experiences regarding a common interest: how to better prepare healthcare providers and the communities they serve in the face of a disaster."

The inaugural CCDM conference, held in March 2019, was attended by over 250 people representing 12 countries, including nine Caribbean islands.

Full conference details and online registration are available at https://ccdm2020.eventbrite.com. Healthcare providers, administrators, educators, researchers and emergency personnel are encouraged to attend. Early registration is recommended to ensure a seat at the event. Continuing medical education (CME) credit will be offered pending application and approval.