Dear ACOEM Members:
The American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine will be developing a delegation of ACOEM members to visit Havana Cuba.
I am excited to lead this delegation and invite you to join us as we meet our counterparts and learn about the healthcare system, and the government role in ensuring worker safety in Cuba.
The US is slowly reengaging with Cuba after a few years of limited access. Travel to Cuba for most US citizens, remains restricted by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Treasury Department. This delegation will be travelling under OFAC regulation 31 CFR §515.564 General license for professional research. This license supports our access to the highest-level professionals in Cuba.
Each member of the delegation must be in compliance with the General License issued by OFAC authorizing full-time professionals to conduct a full-time schedule of research activities in Cuba with the likelihood that this research will be publicly disseminated. To ensure compliance, each participant in the program will be required to provide a professional profile and sign an affidavit attesting to his or her status as a full-time professional, paid, or unpaid, in the focused field of the delegation.
The Citizen Ambassador Program will be coordinating all aspects of the program to ensure the delegation is in compliance with OFAC regulations. The leadership at the Citizen Ambassador Program, has developed and administered high level professional exchange ages for over 30 years, including exchanges with Cuba since the late 1990s. Citizen Ambassadors is a program of Cultural Vistas, a non-profit NGO, based in Washington DC.
The Preliminary Schedule of Activities outlines our planned professional exchange and cultural experiences. The interactions, site visits, and experiences have been designed to enhance our appreciation and understanding of our profession Cuba.
ACOEM Delegation to Cuba Goals
The goal of this exchange is to learn how Occupational and Environmental Health professionals in Cuba function within the healthcare system, advocate for worker health and provide education around workplace safety. We will learn about the challenges faced with limited resources for programs and the most common injuries/illnesses resulting from workplace incidences. The delegation will accomplish the below learning objectives through site visits, roundtable discussions and one-on-one exchanges with Occupational and Environmental health professionals in Cuba. The following topics of discussion were developed to guide the professional program, creating a dynamic, energized, and exciting bilateral exchange.
· What are the formal processes for ensuring worker safety?
· How are work related injuries and illnesses addressed? (reporting, care, administrative issues)
· What are the return-to-work methods used?
· What is the greatest area of need within occupational and environmental medicine?
· Are there any protections afforded injured workers (similar to our ADA, FMLA, compensation for loss, etc.)?
· How does the occupational medicine physician and specialty in general interface with other medical specialties or organizations?
· Are there employer efforts focused upon total worker health?
Our delegation will convene in Miami Florida on Tuesday, December 5, 2023, fly to Havana, Cuba as a group, and return to Miami on Sunday, December, December 10, 2023.
As the Citizen Ambassador Program is a private-citizen effort, delegates are responsible for their own program costs. The estimated cost per delegate or guest $ 3950 (double occupancy). This cost includes the round-trip flights between Miami and Havana, the professional program, accommodations, ground transportation, cultural activities, most meals, and other costs associated with participation.
For US citizens, participation in this program may be tax-deductible as an educational expense related to your profession. As each individual’s financial situation is different, please contact your tax advisor for guidance.
We encourage you to invite a travel companion to share this experience with you. OFAC has included a provision within the regulations, for accompanying non-professionals to participate alongside the delegation professional. For those interested in sharing your experience in Cuba, a parallel program of people-to-people activities will be developed for guests accompanying you on this enriching program. Guests will experience the culture and lifestyle of Cuba, through interactions with the people of Havana. Information on the Accompanying Guest Program will be posted shortly on the Delegation Communication Site.
Due to the extensive planning involved in coordinating a program of this nature, I ask that you respond with your intentions regarding this invitation by October 1, 2023. The size of this delegation will be limited to ensure a high quality of professional interaction. We would appreciate hearing from you as soon as possible as to whether you are able to join our delegation or not.
I hope that you can join me. Please complete the ACOEM Delegation Application. Please note if you received this invitation, you are automatically confirmed to participate.
You will also be required to deposit $500 to hold your position on the team. You will receive an invoice at approximately 90 days before departure with the full balance of the program cost due at 60 days before departure. If you have questions regarding the delegation, we encourage you to contact Dawn Davis or Kasey McKevitt at citizenambassador@culturalvistas.org, or 202-545-7034.
I am pleased to be involved in this exciting opportunity, and I hope you will strongly consider participating in this unique event. I am confident that we will all benefit, both professionally and personally through this unique opportunity.
Sincerely,
Douglas W Martin MD FACOEM FAAFP FIAIME
Immediate Past President
Delegation Leader