GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – Minister Pamela Gordon Carty (MBA) of the Minister of Public Health, Social Development and Labour (Ministry VSA) recently successfully completed the hiring of a long time highly needed full-time epidemiologist for the Ministry VSA.
Eva Lista-de Weever has entered government service as the head of the Department of Collection Preventive Services (CPS) as of 4th February 2020.
This position has been vacant for the past three years. In addition, she will execute the tasks of epidemiologist. Lista-de Weever obtained a master’s degree in Public Health (MPH) in the field of epidemiology and has worked briefly before in Sint Maarten in 2015 and since then in Ontario, Canada.
Epidemiology is a field where trained epidemiologists study patterns of frequency and the causes and effects of diseases in human populations.
Epidemiology provides the scientific footings for evidence-based medicine and allows placement of strategies for improvement in public health.
Epidemiology is often referred to as the cornerstone of modern public health research and practice and it relies on a variety of relevant public health areas, including biology, biostatistics, social sciences, and assessing risk of exposure to a threat.
Epidemiologists study outbreaks of diseases, the causes, locations, and how various communities are affected, utilizing relative information to aid in the prevention of future outbreaks.
Epidemiologists help to keep the public informed of methods to maintain and improve public health.
The timing couldn’t have been better given the current public health issue in China of the 2019– CoV coronavirus. Lista – de Weever her knowledge and skills will be a welcome reinforcement of team VSA.
PHOTO CUTLINE: L to R: Minister Pamela Gordon-Carty and Epidemiologist Eva Lista-de Weever.