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 .
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.
Please take note of an upcoming ICPD Neuroscience symposium this weekend with free registration: https://icpd.am/conference/28
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/
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
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 .
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:
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
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
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 .
Please note that this e-mail is not secure (encrypted). If you do not wish to continue communication over unencrypted e-mail, please notify the sender of this message immediately. Continuing to send or respond to e-mail after receiving this message means you understand and accept this risk and wish to continue to communicate over unencrypted e-mail.
As promised, please see below some quick updates from the past couple of days:
Monday July 25, I spent about 5 hours seeing patients and discussing cases with our first cohort of Armenian urogynecology fellows at Beglaryan Women’s hospital (photo 1)
Tuesday July 26, spent an additional 6 hours with the same fellows at Izmirlyan hospital (photo 2)
Both days we treated patients with urinary incontinence, prolapse and other pelvic floor disorders. Wednesday and Thursday will be surgery days (more to come)
The fellows are hungry to learn, eager to improve their knowledge base and technical skills, and very accepting to the American-based health care standards to improve the quality of life of the patients they are caring for. The potential of the young generation of physicians is great and very promising! I encourage all of you, the readers of this newsletter, to start thinking about ways to replicate or build on our experience and those of others to improving specialty training in your own areas of expertise to ultimately benefit the entirety of health care in Armenia. I propose that a reliable, robust and effective health care system in Armenia is the missing link to a prosperous Armenia. Let us all work together to make it happen.
I also visited the whole Beglaryan medical center, including the Zinvori Doun (soldier’s house) which has been transformed to a physical rehab center for all those in need (photo 4 and 5).
With Inessa, our AAMA Armenia representative, I met with Lena Nanoushyan, the assistant to the MOH. We discussed all sorts of health care related topics and means to collaborate and improve communication and active participation between the diaspora and Armenia (photo 6).
Also with Inessa, met with the Arthur and Lilit (with their newborn baby) who are running the Armenian Geriatrics center in Armenia (which also has a healthcare arm) and solicited feedback and updates on the 100 oxygen concentrators that AAMA helped purchase and ship to Armenia (word document / attachment 7).
We had another very productive meeting with the physician and administrator running an AUA-run program (sponsored by a donor from California) know as Entrepreneurs in Health that offers loans to health care workers starting small businesses (clinics) in rural Armenia, Artsakh, and the Javakh region of Georgia. I believe there is a lot of opportunity for potential future AAMA-EIH collaboration. See link for more details on EIH https://trdp.aua.am/entrepreneurs-in-healthcare-eih/
I leave you with this view of Yerevan at night (photo 8) and wish you all well.
Will try to reconnect in a couple of days
Sincerely,
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 .
Please note that this e-mail is not secure (encrypted). If you do not wish to continue communication over unencrypted e-mail, please notify the sender of this message immediately. Continuing to send or respond to e-mail after receiving this message means you understand and accept this risk and wish to continue to communicate over unencrypted e-mail.
You are receiving this email because you are either an AAMA member, a friend or an AAMA supporter / donor.
I am presently visiting Armenia through the end of the month for a week of a medical mission:
To train, work and operate with a cohort of 5 young physicians from Armenia specializing in Urogynecology
To follow up on the philanthropic and non-profit work the AAMA has been conducting in Armenia over the past 2 years, thanks in large part to all of your support
I will try to send regular emails (and pictures) in the coming week to keep you updated with the results of my touring and meeting with the different hospitals, institutions and individuals in Armenia. Please respond to this email if your inbox is inundated with emails and you have little to no time to dedicate to the AAMA updates. If so, I will take you off of the mailing list.
My first impression from the time I set foot at the airport is that people from all across the world are visiting the country in droves as you can tell from the selfie at the airport. People seem happy, vibrant and full of excitement. There is plenty of work opportunities with thousands of new jobs being reported every month, and the Armenian Dram has strengthened vis-à-vis the US dollar. The economy seems to be heading in a positive direction. The Republican square in Armenia is breath taking at night as well as in the morning of July 24 (which happened to be St Vartavar’s feast day where Water was King). Big Massis (Ararat) was shrouded with clouds today but will hopefully get a better view (and photo) in the coming days.
OK below are some of AAMA updates from back home:
We have received many grant applications and our call for proposals is now closed for this cycle – the committee will convene in August and selections will be made in the fall. There will be 2 awards, one for 5K and the other one for 10K
Save the date for the AAMA November 12th gala with special guest of honor (TBA). The event will be held at Boston Sheraton. More details to follow.
The HBO project is progressing well. I will meet in person with the Mikayelyan hospital administrators on this coming Friday and will hopefully have more information after that.
The Artsakh primary care project with Tufenkian is moving forward as well. Anush Sahakian, MD is in Artsakh at present and I believe Nick Akgulian, MD, our colleague and friend from Wisconsin is there too. They are both laying the foundations for a long-term primary care mission in the region of Martuni. I will be meeting with Anush this Saturday and will have more updates to come.
Website (for AAMA members only) -please visit https://aamaboston.org/ and ensure your profile is up to date including email and mailing address and be sure to pay your dues – these help fund our student scholarships
While you are at our website, you may view some of our past events including the Pathways to Success webinar link
Our medical students as well as allied health are encouraged to apply to the AAMA scholarships. You can see the application for this year – due on Oct 31, 2022 at https://aamaboston.org/scholarship/
Thank you to all of you who volunteered for the Homenetmen sporting weekend around 4th of July.
Viken Babikian, MD and his neurology group in Armenia with collaboration with Sharon Chekijian, MD have published a comprehensive paper describing the implementation of a stroke program in Armenia. See link for more details: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/23969873221108739
As a reminder, 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.
With gratitude
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 .
Please note that this e-mail is not secure (encrypted). If you do not wish to continue communication over unencrypted e-mail, please notify the sender of this message immediately. Continuing to send or respond to e-mail after receiving this message means you understand and accept this risk and wish to continue to communicate over unencrypted e-mail.
Some of you may already know that my time as the president of the AAMA has come to an end. I have transitioned to the role of “immediate past president” and the board has welcomed our new president, Rosalynn Nazarian, MD and vice president, Hovig Chitilian, MD. I will continue to write and distribute the monthly newsletters to the AAMA membership and friends through the end of this year, after which there may be a new format and individual(s) leading the AAMA newsletters. A big thank you to all of you who have endured reading my emails over the past 2+ years with regular updates on all the AAMA activities both in the US and the homeland.
Below are the AAMA updates for the month of June:
The “extended” deadline of the AAMA grant applications is end of business day, Friday July 1 (in 2 days). There are 2 grant opportunities; one for $10,000 and the second for $5,000. All details and application forms can be found on our website at: https://aamaboston.org/aama-armenia-and-artsakh-healthcare-support-initiative/
The goal of the grants should align with the following:
To promote disease prevention strategies and healthy behavior
To improve the status of health care and its delivery
To establish health programs in places where there are none
To develop evidence-based health care educational and/or training programs
We had a very successful 3-hour virtual seminar on June 4 on the topic of: Pathways to Success: A Celebration of Women in Healthcare. We had a large number of people attend the seminar with greatly positive feedback.
The AAMA-sponsored health fair happened on Saturday May 21 from 1-4pm. This was organized in collaboration with Mount Auburn Hospital, Lahey, and the town of Watertown and took place at ACEC. This was not heavily attended possibly due to the in-person nature, conflict with graduations, and the weather being so hot. The board is considering other options for next year, including combining a blood drive with the Watertown fair. Stay tuned.
We had our second Happy Hour get together this year at the Branchline in Watertown earlier this month and it was very well attended by colleagues and friends. We also welcomed some new AAMA members. Be on the lookout for the next one in the fall.
The HBO project for the Mikayelyan (Yerevan) and the Republican (Stepanakert) hospitals has moved a significant step forward. We have now resolved all the technical issues with the oxygen and its supply to the machines. Our next plan is to organize the travel plans of the American experts to go to Yerevan and Stepanakert and set up the machines to kickstart the program.
We are in advanced discussions with the Tufenkian Foundation to establish a primary care mission in Artsakh and co-sponsored between Tufenkian and AAMA. With the help of Anush Sahakian, we have identified one lead physician from the US and an additional physician as a back-up who will run the mission and train the locals. We are expecting the lead physician to orient to the Area (Martuni region) between July and September of this year, and hopefully establish a more permanent mission by early next year.
The AAMA board has approved a $10,000 collaboration program with the neurology group led by Dr Berge Minassian and including neurologists in the US, Canada and Europe to help fund the education and training of an Armenian pediatric neurologist to serve the needs of children in Artsakh. The neurologists have raised the initial $5,000 and AAMA will match the second $5,000.
The AAMA in collaboration with the Wisconsin and Chicago-area Armenian physicians have renewed the Dynamed subscription (clinical educational tool for clinicians) at the Armenian National Medical Library. In addition, the AAMA has agreed to fund an additional one-year subscription for Uptodate also at the Armenian National Medical Library.
We have reached a new landmark with 250 recipients on the AAMA mailing list. Way to go!
The HMEM leadership has reached out to the AAMA and they are looking for healthcare volunteers to be available at the HMEM Navasartian games running from July 1-3 in Woburn. All those who are available, please reach out to Lara Bastajian at: lara.bastajian@gmail.com
The AAMA is exploring collaboration opportunities locally with the Armenian Pharmacy Association in Boston, and in Armenia / Artsakh with COAF and HENAR. Stay tunes.
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
Pay your dues through the website electronically ($150 for licensed practitioners, $75 for residents and fellows, free for all students). AAMA is a non-profit 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.
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 .
Please note that this e-mail is not secure (encrypted). If you do not wish to continue communication over unencrypted e-mail, please notify the sender of this message immediately. Continuing to send or respond to e-mail after receiving this message means you understand and accept this risk and wish to continue to communicate over unencrypted e-mail.
