Newsletter: June 2022

by | Jun 23, 2023

Dear colleagues and friends

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 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’

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