Chief Nursing Officer and Director of Health Services Quality Management, Mrs. Serene Carter-Davis, has been awarded for her outstanding work in the area of risk reduction activities in the Anguillian community.
The presentation ceremony, organised by the Director of Disaster Management, Melissa Meade, was held at Alliance Insurance Services Ltd. at George Hill on Monday, February 13.
Ms. Meade said the criteria for persons to win the award included creating a safety and risk-reduction set of activities to stimulate knowledge of various health risks and disease prevention; improving the ability to identify safe conditions and practices; implementing effective and safety strategies; facilitating accountability and improving evaluation and monitoring; increasing risk-reduction awareness and mitigation programme communication; improving the ability to identify and abate hazards; and developing appropriate risk reduction policies, plans and programmes.
Ms. Meade told reporters that Mrs. Carter-Davis had met the required criteria. Her achievements included championing mass casualty management and initiating and developing the Nurse Cadet Programme. As a result of that programme, there are a number of trained students with the necessary awareness and stimulation to enter the nursing profession later on. “This is a worthy programme initiative which Mrs. Carter-Davis has undertaken,” Ms. Meade stated. “We wish to commend and recognise her as a person in the community who has been championing risk reduction and encouraging a culture of safety inAnguilla.”
The Disaster Management Director was pleased that Alliance Insurance had joined her organization in recognising the work of the awardee, and called on the Insurance Director, Sandra Lovell, to present the Certificate of Recognition to Mrs. Carter-Davis.
Ms. Lovell said her company was very pleased and proud of Mrs. Carter-Davis’ contribution. “As an insurance company, health is very important to us and to mitigate the risks inAnguilla,” she said. “Diabetes and hypertension are very prevalent and on the rise. Anything that we can do towards reducing risks, in terms of health insurance, we would be pleased to undertake.”
Replying, Mrs. Carter-Davis, who was selected for the award from among twelve nominees, said she was honoured to receive the recognition. She recalled that she had been working with Disaster Management for over two decades and had represented Anguilla at several conferences in the Caribbean andLatin Americaon various risk reduction initiatives. In 2004 she organised the island’s first Mass Casualty Management Workshop and since then it has become an annual event. This has been followed by an Emergency Care and Treatment Workshop which is held annually in close collaboration with Disaster Management. The health official pledged to continue to work to ensure that various systems are in place to mitigate disasters.
