The staging of the event involved cooperation among several sponsoring partners, including Tropical Shipping, the Caribbean Central America Action (CCAA), and the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), all of which continue to play a major role in regional disaster recovery efforts.

Baptist Health International Center of Miami, a division of Baptist Health South Florida, also partnered with the CCAA to assist in bringing the workshop series to the Caribbean. Baptist Health is the largest faith-based, non-profit healthcare organization in the region.

Chris Kilroy, Manager - Emergency Preparedness and Security at Baptist Health, spoke to The Observer before giving his presentation at the St. Kitts event, having assumed the same role the day before in a disaster management event held in Antigua. Baptist Health also participated in workshops in Turks and Caicos, and the Bahamas.

"Inevitably something is gong to occur that is not normal business," said Kilroy, explaining the importance of instituting effective disaster management preparations. "You need to have a plan for mitigation and recovery in place."

He went on to stress the how critical it was for any country to have its risk assessments and vulnerability analysis done properly, where the imminent hazards, historical hazards, ecological hazards, and man-made hazards were all taken into account. Based on the data generated, an effective plan, with a list of priorities should then be drawn up, taking into account all available resources.

According to Kilroy, high levels of cooperation between the public and private sector, as part of the working disaster management plan, are essential to mitigate the effects of any national catastrophe, and to expedite recovery. He emphasized that a pre-defined communications infrastructure needed to be in place, so that when an emergency necessitated it, clear lines have already been established.

Though not personally involved in the Haiti crisis, Kilroy informed that staff members of Baptist Health contributed to matching program, which garnered over $400,000 in donations that were disseminated through the Red Cross. Staff was also organized to pack and sent approximately 1,005,000 meal packets to Haiti, and helped to facilitate shipment of medical supplies for the U.S. State Department, including X-ray machines.

The workshops were developed to increase awareness of best practices in disaster management, with public health assistance as the top priority in planning and relief. One of the other primary goals was to generate and jointly endorse a memorandum of understanding between the St. Kitts and Nevis Chamber of Industry and Commerce, Tropical Shipping and NEMA.

"In light of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, it's critical for Caribbean nations to have the infrastructure in place to ensure medical relief is provided in a timely manner after a natural disaster," said Lawrence Cole, assistant vice president for marketing and business development for Baptist Health, from a press release. "This is an opportunity for communities to hear from experts about lessons learned from past experiences. We hope everyone will walk away with an understanding that preparedness is key for proper disaster management and prevention."

Sally Yearwood, CCAA's acting executive director, expressed similar sentiments in a released statement, saying, "This workshop will provide leaders in the Caribbean with the knowledge and guidance to minimize loss of life and disease caused by delayed response time."