by Tony BestFew observers, if any, were caught off guard by the detailed record of achievement of the Caribbean American Medical & Scientific Association (CAMSA) as outlined by its president, Dr Ed Alleyne. The reason? Ever since its incorporation in New York seven years ago, CAMSA, an organisation of Barbadian, Jamaican, Guyanese and other Caribbean physicians, scientists, medical practitioners and others in health care, has, in the words of its founding president Dr O’Neall Parris, a prominent Bajan pediatrician In New York, “sought to live up to its mission statement”.And that mission, according to its website “is to foster improvements in the health of Caribbean people’s through medical, educational, scientific and charitable activities”.To achieve that goal, Dr Alleyne, a Bajan, told scores of guests at the association’s annual awards luncheon inNew Hyde Park that “CAMSA undertook clinical outreach efforts in the Caribbean, either on its own or in partnership with several organisations, including Millennium Sistahs, Inc. and the Caribbean American Outreach Association”.Together, they worked in Jamaica, St Lucia, Grenada and Trinidad and Tobago. Just as important, CAMSA’s members volunteered their medical, nursing and other health care skills to people in Guyana and Cuba, said Dr Alleyne.That track record explains why when the devastating earthquake struck Haiti, leaving250 000 people dead,1.2 million homeless, and an estimated US$6.5 billion in damage to government and private property, CAMSA’s immediate past president Dr Patricia Nicholas, a podiatrist, hit the ground running as “a first responder” providing care to Haitian victims. Since then, Dr Nicholas, a Haitian, and other CAMSA members have returned to Haiti on missions of mercy.But that’s not all.The association has linked arms with the Barbados Cancer Association USA and the MilleniumSistahs to hold town hall meetings, health fairsand medical and scientific conferences on an arrayof issues.
The mission“We believe our core mission, advocacy for improvement in health care for medically under-served populations in the United States and the Caribbean through medical, scientific and charitable activitiesmust influence our agenda at all times,” said Dr Alleyne.There is yet another aspect of CAMSA’s agenda. It is to recognise the contributions of researchers, scientists, health care professionals, community activists and others who, in different ways, address significant health problems inthe United States andthe Caribbean. The organisation did that the other day with its awards presentation to five honorees:• Dr Christopher Hackett, until recently Barbados’ Ambassador to the United Nations. He received the association’s Presidential Award for “stellar career advancing the development” of small island states at the UN and “by proxy the health sectors” of developing nations. • Jean Hamilton, a Jamaican, the founder and president of the Caribbean American Outreach Association, a 12-year-old NGO in New York devoted to the provision of “culturally sensitive general health”,education and social support services. • Glenda White-Hills, founder/president of the Millennium Sistahs.She received a community award for her “dedicated medical outreach to underserved communities in New York and throughout the Caribbean.• Dr Patricia Nicholas, CAMSA’s 2009 president, whose efforts in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti earned her a presidential citation “for outstanding performance”. She was also praised for “doing an outstanding job raising the profile” of the organisation.• Dr Marco Mason, a founder of the Caribbean Women’s Health Association and leading health care and immigration advocate in New York City, especially in Brooklyn. A college professor, Dr Mason received a special award for his extensive contribution to the well-being of the Caribbean immigrant community in the United States. Dr Mason who was born and raised in Panama traces his family’s roots to St Philip.The feature address at the luncheon was delivered by Dr Hackett, and he urged Caribbean nations to link more of their projects and programmes to the UN Millennium Development Goals.“The health systems in the Caribbean need to respond better and quicker to national needs and must be reformed in order to achieve this,”he said.
