THE AWARDS RECOGNIZE PROFESSIONALS FOR THEIR DEDICATION.
The Saint Lucia Medical and Dental Association convenes once annually at a grand gala to recognize outstanding professionals within the local medical fraternity.The awardees are distinguished through their outstanding work in the fields of medicine and dentistry. The awards also recognize those who’ve demonstrated admirable determination and drive.
Awards for the evening included most dedicated team member which went to Dr. Samantha Mathurin. Outstanding intern went to Dr. Kyra Joseph. Dr. Aylwin Benjamin walked away with the outstanding physician award.
Outstanding District Medical Officer for 2023 is Dr. Delphina Vernor. Outstanding Jr. Physician is Dr. Christi Gerald and this year’s Outstanding Dentist is Dr. Randall Boriel.
The SLMDA also takes the opportunity to pay homage to longstanding physicians through its Lifetime Achievement Award. This year’s Lifetime achievement award went to Dr. Mehn Soe, who retired in May 2023 as a consultant of the St. Jude Hospital.
Keynote speaker for this year’s ceremony was Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Sharon Belmar-George. Following her participation at a two-day CARICOM conference focused on improving crime across the region, Dr. Belmar presented on the topic “Crime as a Public Health Issue”. Dr. Belmar said tackling crime through public health was among the many strategies placed on the table. Her presentation also included recommendations to mitigating crime using the public health approach. Dr. Belmar stressed on the importance of data collection in the pushback against crime across the region.
The SLMDA award ceremony also marked the beginning of the annual conference, which spans a period of two days.