Florida State National Guard State Teamed up with the Regional Security Service for a Telehealth and Diabetes Seminar

Telehealth & Diabetic Seminar Participants

Bridgetown, Barbados (March 6, 2010) – Responding to a request from the U.S. Embassy Bridgetown, the Florida State National Guard (FSNG) partnered with member states of the Regional Security Service (RSS) to sponsor a Telehealth and Diabetes Seminar on 17-18 February, 2010 held at the Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine at the University of Miami, Florida. Representatives from all seven RSS states participated in the seminar.

The seminar included presentations from the University of Miami staff regarding areas of telehealth and diabetes. Telehealth was added to the seminar to provide quick and cost effective means of consultation and research for RSS member state medical professionals. The RSS participants visited several University of Miami locations, including the Diabetes Research Institute. This emphasis was predicated upon the fact that diabetes is a widespread public health issue throughout the Eastern Caribbean region.

Twelve persons from the RSS states participated; they were: Captain Prince Ramsey and Captain Mikyla Frederick from Antigua-Barbuda; Captain Virgil Rene Best and Senior Medical Officer, Dr. Kenneth George from Barbados; Dr. Paul Ricketts from Dominica; Inspector Terrence Julien from Grenada; Second Lieutenant Vance Gilbert and Dr. Giovanna Mathew-Mattener from St. Kitts-Nevis; Principal Nursing Officer Kurthney Surage and Dr. Ayo-Oluwa Adeola Adesanya from St. Lucia; Family Nurse Practitioner Carmina Walker, and Sergeant of Police, Ornan Jacobs from St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

As a consequence of this seminar RSS personnel are better equipped to educate their members about the risk factors associated with diabetes. Those who act on this information via behavioral change will be able to reduce their likelihood of succumbing to this disease. Also as Dr. Paul Ricketts, Commonwealth of Dominica noted, the telehealth method of instruction demonstrated a new and cost effective approach to educating people about diabetes.