Top distinguished scholars and scientists travelled many thousands of miles for this meaningful event. They have handled some of the most horrible disasters of recent times: the tragedy of the World Trade center twin towers in New York, the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, the destruction of the Haiti earthquake, etc.
Chief among our presenters was the esteemed Dr. Susan Briggs, Director of the International Trauma and Disaster Institute at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Briggs shared her experiences in Mass Casualty Management and Biological Agents.
Dr. Roy Alson, the Supervising Medical Officer of the US Government’s Specialty Disaster Medical Assistance Teams, gave insights about Chemical Agents in major disasters. Based in North Carolina, he is also an expert in Incident Command Systems and Crush Injuries, such as are common in earthquake and hurricane calamities.
This strong delegation also includes Dr. Christine Curci, an expert in mental health and conflict mitigation in the US. Dr. Curci taught our front line medical providers in Macau on the topic of Psychological Responses to Disasters.
Experts from Hong Kong presented at the forum. They included Dr. Jimmy Chan, the President of the Hong Kong Association for Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine, who was bringing over core Hong Kong faculty members. Dr. Richard Yeung, an expert in disaster management, and Dr. Chow Yuk-Yin, the President of the Hong Kong College of Orthopedic Surgeons and the Vice-President of the Hong Kong Association for Conflict and Catastrophe Medicine, conducted workshops in Blast and Extremity Injuries.
Dr. Lei Wai Seng, the Chairperson of the Macau Society of Emergency and Critical Care Medicine at the Hospital Centre S. Januario, gave an overview of Macau’s current state of emergency response, and what prevention measures we’ve learned from contamination from the Fukushima meltdown, and the rescue missions of the Sichuan earthquake.
Moreover, this forum covered aspects of disaster medicine through a dinner symposium keynote lecture event and a 2-day ADMR workshop addressing the latest research and clinical advances in this field.
“We must all be aware of major incident responses this forum will definitely empower our frontline medical professionals and stakeholders in our healthcare industry here in Macau,” said Dr. Manson Fok, Dean of Faculty of Health Sciences at the Macau University of Science and Technology.
He continued, “Although we are lucky enough to not have had similar disasters here in Macau, we must equip our frontline medical providers with the latest techniques in disaster management. We are now the world’s gaming capital and Asia’s leading entertainment destination, with guests pouring in globally. We must be ready for everything.”
He concludes, “This fifth Sino-Luso Medical Forum will ultimately give our doctors and health care workers a better understanding of these issues in preparedness of major incidents response. It will save lives.”