Opening of Addiction and Psychiatry Congress

The Daily Herald reported on the Addiction and Psychiatry Congress on Transforming Care, held at The Westin St. Maarten Dawn Beach Resort and Spa which officially opened with a reception on Monday and the first sessions began on Monday. Wescot-Williams told delegates that she thought it was extremely important to attend at least part of the session on mental health and addiction and its treatment on St. Maarten and the region. The congress is a combined effort of MHF, the Ministry of Public Health, Turning Point Foundation, the Parnassia group in the Netherlands and SVP-CN of the BES islands Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba. It also is supported by the Ministries of Justice and Education in an effort to create cooperation between the two ministries. The goal of the congress is to transform how care is delivered, with the intention to improve lives of patients and to prevent criminality and community disruptions, including the economic advantage of cooperation and prevention. The focus will be on the youth and the programme focuses on “co0creating younger peoples’ programme for resilience.”