International experts to present at Healthcare Conference

13 September, 2013

Organisers of the fourth annual Cayman Islands Healthcare Conference set to take place from 17 to 19 October at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman are pleased to welcome back Dr James Merlino, Chief Experience Officer and Associate Chief of Staff of the Cleveland Clinic Health System, who will be delivering the opening speech at the conference this year, which is themed ‘Taking Care of Business: A Shared Approach to Workplace Wellness’

Speaking on the topic ‘Sickness to Wellness: How we must redefine our approach to Patient Care’ Dr Merlino is no stranger to the Healthcare Conference, having closed last year’s event with his very well received presentation on ‘Patients First’.

Dr Merlino is a practicing staff colorectal surgeon in the Digestive Disease Institute and is also the founder and current president of the Association for Patient Experience. As a member of the Clinic’s executive team, he leads initiatives to improve the patient experience across the Cleveland Clinic Health System.

Giving some background to his topic this year, Dr Merlino states that transforming society’s approach to the care of its citizens requires “a shift from sick care to well care”.

“Well care is the promotion of wellness,” he explains, “and, within our collective healthcare delivery ecosystem, the approach must include a paradigm shift focused on developing several key themes.”

These themes include the need to develop a sustainable system to reign in healthcare costs, a redefinition of focus where healthy habits, personal responsibility and prevention drive the care continuum and put patients first. Dr Merlino will talk about the need for being holistic in the approach to care and the need to partner to align the ecosystem of care.

In addition, he will discuss the challenges of moving to a culture of wellness focussing on national and international trends in healthcare and highlighting innovations that Cleveland Clinic has developed and implemented to help facilitate this paradigm shift.

The Hon Osbourne Bodden, the Cayman Islands Government’s Minister of Health, Sports, Youth and Culture, is pleased to welcome Dr Merlino back to the Cayman Islands.

“We are very grateful to Dr Merlino for agreeing to participate in our national Healthcare Conference once again. He is a recognised world leader in the emerging field of patient experience and we anticipate that delegates will learn a great deal from his presentation this year,” he states.

Dr Ebi Awosika, President of Pinnacle Occupational Health Consulting and Subject Matter Expert, Employee Health Promotion Disease Prevention, is another highly recognised expert in her field and she is also presenting at the Healthcare Conference.

Dr Awosika directs Employee Health Promotion Disease and Impairment Prevention in the Veterans Health Administration, a large healthcare system with 270,000 employees and she also serves as an Occupational Health and Wellness consultant to companies in the United States and Canada. Dr Awosika completed her residency in internal medicine at the Harlem hospital, New York and her Occupational Medicine residency at Emory University, Atlanta. She is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the University of Minnesota.

Her conference presentation is entitled ‘Achieving Comprehensive Worker Health: A springboard for enhanced National Health’ and she will be providing ways of promoting health, safety and productivity and preventing disease in the workforce.

“It will energise your readiness to take action,” she says. “The time to act is now. Your nations’ health depends on it.”

Mr Bodden is equally delighted that Dr Awosika will be speaking to the audience.

“Our topic this year focuses on improving health and wellness in the workplace and Dr Awosika’s presentation therefore speaks at the very heart of what we are attempting to achieve. We therefore urge everyone to attend and enjoy what is set to be another first class Healthcare Conference,” he says.

While there are still opportunities for sponsorship of this exciting event, the following organisations have already pledged their support: Tenet, Cayman Islands Health Services Authority, Health City Cayman Islands, AIS, Admiral, Dart, 21st Century Oncology, Chrissie Tomlinson Memorial Hospital, Cerner, Cayman First Insurance, Surgery Centre at Doral, Cleveland Clinic, Broward Health, the University of California – San Diego Health System, The Wellness Centre, Cayman Airways, Caymanian Compass and Fast Signs.

The conference is free for delegates to attend and open to the public. Registration is now open online www.healthcareconference.ky.