Dear colleagues and friends
Please see below the latest updates on the AAMA activities for the past 2 weeks:
- The AAMA, under the leadership of Rosalynn and Ara Nazarian, and in collaboration with other diaspora medical organizations, is sponsoring a PT/Rehab 2-day symposium on July 17 and 18 in Armenia. Find the program and poster attached for the upcoming event. We encourage all to sign up and attend.
- Our two HBO machines have been delivered to their respective hospitals including one to Mikaelyan Institute (Yerevan) and the other to the Republican Hospital (Artsakh). Please see attached photos. We are now working with Ani Aprahamian from the Physics institute to ensure adequate infrastructure is available / established to connect the machines and put them to work. Michael Varadian is leading this project and we are getting closer and closer to establishing a viable HBO program for our people in Armenia and Artsakh.
- Our Partners for World Health project has moved one additional step forward. We have now signed a memorandum of agreement with Meduni, an NGO with a presence in Armenia, who will be responsible to clear the 40Ft container full of medical supplies once shipped to Armenia, and will deliver the supplies on our behalf to Sourp Asdvadzamayr Hospital and the Traumatology and Orthopedics Center.
- Anush Sahakian has formed a Facebook group “Armenian Physicians” in the hopes of having a more connected network across the world. Since many of us are either working or planning to work on different projects for Armenia, we are often not aware if others are involved in similar projects. This is a private group restricted to physicians where sensitive clinical and non-clinical topics are discussed in a safe environment. Should you be interested and have a Facebook account, you are invited to join at https://www.facebook.com/groups/1232978670455500
- To date, we have received close to 3K donations for our Music and Medicine event. As a reminder, a donation of $100 or more will get you either the Isabelle Bayrakdarian CD or Lisa Wong’s book.
- Please visit our website at www.aamaboston.org and enjoy all the upgrades, new features and past events that we have incorporated. For new or current members, we ask that you pay your dues through the website electronically. Remember that the AAMA is a non-profit organization. All your donations, including payment of your dues, are tax-deductible. We are also on FB, Instagram, and Twitter.
- Another important reminder that we (the AAMA) are registered with the Amazon Smile program. Every time you purchase an item from Amazon, provided you choose AAMA as your non-profit from the Amazon Smile website, a certain percentage of your purchase gets donated to AAMA. We now have over 215 members / friends on this mailing list. The dollars add up. Consider making use of this program while shopping on Amazon.
- Although the AAMA will no longer actively participate in shipping and transporting medical supplies to Armenia, we do consider projects (shipments) based on an “as needed” basis or Armenian MOH / hospitals urgent need requests. We have AAMA members and contacts who travel often to Armenia and continue to support transporting essential medical supplies (for example Covid-related supplies and PPE’s).
- One of the key strategic areas of interest for the AAMA in the coming years will be to help develop and establish medical education, healthcare and specialty training programs in Armenia. For instance, Sharon Chekijian, through a Fulbright scholarship is working on an emergency medicine program. Another friend and colleague, Samuel Badalian, has also recently received a Fulbright scholarship to help establish a Urogynecology program in Armenia. Other areas of interest include Neurology with Viken Babikian; respiratory therapy with Anush Sahakian; primary care with Armineh Mirzabegian; geriatrics with Armen Arslanian; Endocrine (Diabetes project for Artsakh) with Shant Parseghian and others.
- Anush is also very interested in establishing a locum tenens/visiting physician program in Armenia for physicians from the diaspora to come and help. If any one of you have the interest to support this program or the time to volunteer in Armenia, please let me or Anush know.
- The medical student consortium team continues its planning meetings as we develop strategies to collaborate with medical student and postgraduate training and education both in Armenia and New England as well as developing a journal club and case presentation zoom webinars for medical students and residents from Armenia to benefit from. We are also teaming up med students / residents / fellows with same-specialty AAMA faculty.
- Finally, If any of you are interested in being more actively involved with any of the AAMA activities listed above, or should you have an idea / project you would like to undertake, please reach out to me and I will get you more involved and support you as best as we can.
A Happy 4th of July to you all
Vatche’
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