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 11^th 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 11^th 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 [email protected] or 1 (345) 623.8824.