Newsletter: December 2022

by | Jun 23, 2023 | Newsletters

Dear colleagues and friends

After writing more than 100 newsletters on behalf of the AAMA over the past few years, I am afraid my time as the editor-in-chief has come to an end. I thank you all for welcoming my electronic tidbits into your mailboxes every day during the 44-day war, followed by twice weekly, then weekly and, more recently, on a monthly basis. Your patience and support have kept me going this far and this long, and for that I will forever be grateful. I am looking forward for better things to come from AAMA and I am hopeful we will be part of that altogether; change is always welcome news representing a healthy and prosperous organization with a strong leadership, fresh ideas and more robust projects in support of our Armenian people and motherland. 

Below are the AAMA updates for the past month:

  • I hope you all had a very nice Thanksgiving and looking ahead for even happier and healthier things to come with the Christmas and New Year’s holiday season.
  • We had a very successful 50th Anniversary AAMA Gala and fundraiser event in November with over 200 guests in attendance, the largest in memory. Many of the past presidents, including our very first president (Dr. Barsam), AAMA members and friends were in attendance. Thank you all for attending and your unwavering and generous support for the AAMA mission. Please see the following link for the event photos https://adobe.ly/3Gtvxq0
  • HBO project update: The HBO machine in Yerevan was uncrated and the one in Stepanakert will be uncrated soon. All the piping and infrastructure for hooking up the machines have been prepared. We are hopeful the American experts will be able to travel to Armenia in the upcoming months (their December travel plans were postponed due to unforeseen circumstances) to hook up the machines, educate and train the local Armenians and initiate the HBO programs both in Armenia and in Artsakh.
  • This year’s AAMA top grant winner ($10,000) is the Tufenkian foundation who will establish a training program for first aid on the field and battleground emergency care using American standards. Click here to learn more about the project: https://public.3.basecamp.com/p/E1qC1rZ4fimSFEjsBVZi8Agh. Our second-place winner ($5,000) is the VIVA foundation who will develop a pilot program for prenatal screening for congenital defects / malformations in pregnancy for women in Gyumri.
  • The collaborative AAMA and Tufenkian Foundation primary care mission in Marduni is ongoing. Dr. Anush Sahakyan is planning to visit the mission in January accompanied by a US-based graduating family medicine resident at her next trip. The AAMA continues to be very interested (and welcomes your contributions for the project) with supporting all aspects of the health and health care delivery to the people of Marduni.
  • The AAMA will be meeting with HENAR next week to explore collaboration opportunities including primary health care prevention as well as educational programs both in Armenia and Artsakh.
  • The AAMA would like to remind and encourage you to attend the 6th International Medical Congress in Armenia (IMCA) to be held from July 6-8, 2023. See the link for more details: http://6imca.am/en
  • We are joining forces with the pharmacy group (AAPA) to host a Holiday party on Sunday, January 8th at 6pm in Osterio Nino, Burlington, MA. Save the date! (Details to follow)
  • The AAMA is working with the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine//Armenia to reinvigorate the medical student exchange program between Armenia and Boston.
  • If you shop on Amazon, please go to Amazon smile and add AAMA as your non-profit organization for Amazon to support, especially as you do your Christmas shopping
  • We wish to remind all our medical students and allied health students to apply to the AAMA Scholarship. All those interested can find the application on our website. The deadline is December 9th! Apply by clicking here: https://aamaboston.org/scholarship/
  • Please visit our website to update your email and mailing address, including existing members, and look for the latest news and updates at www.aamaboston.org. You can also renew your membership and update your profile including mailing address at https://aamaboston.org/join/#account/join. We are a 501c3 organization – Think of AAMA for your end-of-year gifting.

God bless you all

With love,

Vatche’

The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed.  If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Mass General Brigham Compliance HelpLine at https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/complianceline .

Newsletter: October 2022

by | Jun 23, 2023 | Newsletters

Dear colleagues and friends

Below are the AAMA updates for the month of October:

  • The AAMA Winter 50th Anniversary Gala will take place at the Boston Sheraton on November 12, 2022. RSVP by November 4. It is shaping to be a very special event. Our special guest of honor is Garo Armen as our keynote speaker. The very first president (Dr Paul Barsam) and many subsequent presidents of the AAMA will be in attendance. We will also be honoring the SIATA Group and announcing the winners of our inaugural grant program!! Fundraising efforts during the gala will benefit the AAMA projects and our medical and allied health student scholarship funds. Tickets are selling out fast and are available to purchase online by clicking here: https://aamaboston.org/events/#!event/2022/12/11/50th-anniversary-of-thf-armenian-american-medical-association

See you there!

  • A collaboration between the AAMA and the NEWLY RENAMED Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine//Armenia program is underway. Please let us know if you (or someone you know) was a prior participant in the BU-Armenia student exchange program. Share your feedback and help shape the program for future generations. See the news article below.
$100 million gift gives MED a new name: the BU Aram V. Chobanian & Edward Avedisian School of Medicine
The Lifelong Friendship behind Astonishing $100 Million Gift to BU’s Medical School
  • The US based team that will install the HBO machines at the Mikayelyan (Yerevan) and the Republican (Stepanakert) hospitals has been mobilized. The AAMA is actively preparing for the final phase of this project. Earlier today, we met with the American trip traveling to Armenia, as well as representatives from Artsakh, the Mikayelyan hospital (Yerevan), the Armenian contractor and others to finalize all the details. The two American experts (physician and technician) will be joined by an Armenian physician from California who will help translate the English documents to Armenian and act as an expert interpreter during the set-up process. We are expecting both machines to be operational by end of this year.
  • We would like to encourage our members and friends to consider attending the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia (IMCA) July 6-8, 2023 – Yerevan, Armenia; Click here for additional information: http://6imca.am/
  • The AAMA continues to fundraise to cover the costs of Anesthesiology residency training for Zhenya Harutyunyan, the MD from the Marduni region (Artsakh). Zhenya’s plan is to return to Marduni and serve the people of the region where there is presently no Anesthesia support.
  • The AAMA wishes to remind all our medical students and allied health students to apply to the AAMA Scholarship. All those interested can find the application on our website. The deadline has been extended to December 9, 2022! Apply by clicking here: https://aamaboston.org/scholarship/
  • The AAMA has renewed the UpToDate subscription with the Armenian Medical Library
  • Save the date for the AAMA + AAPA (pharmacy group) holiday get-together on January 6th at 8pm in Osterio Nino, Burlington, MA. Details to follow.
  • Remember to renew your annual membership and please consider making a year-end contribution to support our work in the NEW England community locally, and nationally and internationally in Armenia and Artsakh. We are a 501c3 organization and your donations are tax deductible. https://aamaboston.org/donate/

With respect

Vatche’

The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed.  If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Mass General Brigham Compliance HelpLine at https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/complianceline .

Newsletter: August 2022

by | Jun 23, 2023 | Newsletters

Dear colleagues and friends

Below are the AAMA updates for the month of August:

  • The window for the 2 AAMA grant applications has closed (one for $10,000 and the second for $5,000). We received many excellent project proposals. The grant review committee has convened and is carefully considering all applications to make a funding determination. An announcement will be made at our gala dinner on November 12, 2022.
  • We are very excited to host our third Happy Hour event this year on September 15 from 6:30-9:00pm at the Summer Shack in Harvard square Pop-up, Outdoor Patio(address: One Bennett St, Cambridge, next to The Charles Hotel). All old and new members, friends and family are welcome (see flyer for more details).
  • Coincidentally, we have heard from our New York colleagues that the MOH of Armenia, Anahit Avanesyan, is planning to visit NY on September 24, 2022 with at least one event planned at Columbia.
  • The AAMA Winter Gala will take place at the Boston Sheraton on November 12, 2022. We have a special guest of honor (TBA). This year, we will be celebrating our 50th anniversary and the fundraising efforts during the gala will benefit the AAMA projects and our medical and allied health student scholarship funds. Please save the date and more information to come.
  • We are still expecting to complete the HBO project for the Mikayelyan (Yerevan) and the Republican (Stepanakert) hospitals. We are organizing the travel plans of the American experts to go to Yerevan and Stepanakert and set up the machines to kickstart the program.
  • The collaborative AAMA and Tufenkian Foundation primary care mission in Martuni is now up and running. The ground work has been laid with the help of Dr Anush Sahakian (AAMA) and Greg Bedian (Tufenkian), and the clinic is now staffed by Dr Nick Akgulian. Nick is receiving Armenian to English interpreter support by a young medical graduate from the region, Dr Zhenia Harutyunyan.
  • Dr Zhenia Harutyunian has been accepted into a prestigious Russian University Hospital in Moscow and will start her anesthesia training program soon. However, she needs to pay $7,000 per year for two years to get the needed training while in Russia. Given that Martuni hospital has no anesthesiologists (currently, no surgeries are taking place there and patients in need of surgery have to drive to Stepanakert for about an hour or more) and given that Dr Harutyunyan has pledged to come back to Martuni after she completes her training, the AAMA is seeking donations from our friends and members to fund for Dr Harutyunyan’s anesthesia residency training. We believe this investment is crucial to be able to offer surgical / anesthesia care in Artsakh’s Martuni and help prevent outmigration of the local Armenians in the region. To date, we have secured $2,000 from a generous donor but we still need more. All those interested in supporting this project can reach out to me.
  • The AAMA is collaborating with AUA’s Entrepreneurs in Health (EIH) program to support physicians starting practices in rural Armenia – please let us know if you are interested in becoming a primary care mentor. This will entail monthly or bi-monthly virtual meetings to share your medical expertise and discuss best practices and clinical cases as needed.
  • The AAMA has received a request for support from AHAOP, one of our partners, in Armenia. They are an organization primarily geared to care for a geriatric population (social and health care). They are at risk of losing their center as they have fallen behind in rent. They have partial funding from UMCOR, an Armenian Charitable Foundation. However, they still need to cover an additional $9,000 for the year. Those interested in supporting their work, please visit one of the 2 AHAOP fundraising accounts below:
    • GoFundMe account:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/pioneering-a-new-culture-of-aging-in-armenia?qid=f5e5d30e56786594bed82f0acbe467c8&fbclid=IwAR1y2JmHSBQjVSaRVx4MQmXI2mOM3f1XTg8KclwL4Q0s2kXQdnOFr5oYXE4

  • Patreon account:

https://www.patreon.com/ahaop

  • The AAMA continues to explore other collaboration opportunities locally with the Armenian Pharmacy Association in Boston, and in Armenia / Artsakh with COAF and HENAR. Stay tuned.
  • A warm welcome to the many students who have joined the AAMA recently. We have many students interested in observerships – please let us know if you can accommodate and we will try to match specialties. Ruben Oganesyan successfully completed an observership in Dermatoathology at MGH. We also have a dedicated Members Forum page on our website for any announcements you would like to post at https://aamaboston.org/member-forum/#!board/MemberForum
  • Pay your dues through the website electronically ($150 for licensed practitioners, $75 for residents and fellows, free for all students). AAMA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. All your donations, including payment of your dues, are tax-deductible.
  • If you shop on Amazon, the AAMA is registered with the Amazon Smile program. Choose AAMA as your non-profit organization and a certain percentage of your purchase gets donated to us. Any amount counts and will help us reach our collective goal to promote excellence in healthcare in the Armenian communities we serve and support the professional development of our members in the Boston area and throughout New England.

With respect

Vatche’

The information in this e-mail is intended only for the person to whom it is addressed.  If you believe this e-mail was sent to you in error and the e-mail contains patient information, please contact the Mass General Brigham Compliance HelpLine at https://www.massgeneralbrigham.org/complianceline .

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