EMEDEX members have helped to establish the first volunteer-based ambulance corps in the country, and have overseen an ongoing pre-hospital service in St. Elizabeth parish, the first of its kind in the country. More than 170 community members have been trained in water rescue, CPR, first aid and spinal immobilization skills. The Treasure Beach Response Unit now operates a fully stocked ambulance that is always on call for this rural community. EMEDEX has also shipped an ultrasound machine to the residency program at the University of the West Indies in Kingston, and trained more than 50 doctors in emergency ultrasound skills. The machine is now used daily in the care of the acutely ill and injured in Kingston’s primary teaching hospital.
We have also established an educational exchange rotations with our Jamaican colleagues, both at the emergency department at Kingston Public Hospital (KPH) and the University of West Indies/Mona campus (UWI) where they experience first-hand a high level of acuity and a thriving trauma practice. The program is conducted in conjunction with the Jamaican Ministry of Health and the dean of UWI/Mona Campus. We have also hosted visiting doctors from Jamaica so that they can learn firsthand from our system of practice. Given the large West Indian community within and around the hospital in Brooklyn, this program will have the additional benefit of offering an opportunity to enhance community relations.