Armenian American Wellness Center

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The Armenian American Wellness Center facility in Yerevan, as it will look after renovations are complete in 2007.

1 Introduction
2 History
3 Construction
4 Links

[edit] Introduction

The Armenian American Wellness Center in Armenia is the humanitarian project of the Armenian American Cultural Association (AACA), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization incorporated in Arlington, Virginia in February, 1995.

The Wellness Center is dedicated to saving, prolonging, and improving the lives of women through the early and accurate detection of breast and cervical cancer, and to providing primary health care services to ensure the good health and well-being of mothers and daughters in Armenia.

[edit] History

Armenia’s transition to a democratic, market-based society began with its independence from the Soviet Union in September, 1991. This transformation, however, was effected adversely by the sudden collapse of the Soviet economy, the ravaging effects of a devastating earthquake, and the imposition of blockades by two of its neighbors (Turkey and Azerbaijan).

Preventative medicine had been non-existent in Soviet Armenia, and the already limited government-supported healthcare system was totally crippled by the collapse of the USSR. In 1996 Armenia’s Minister of Health identified breast cancer as the nation’s leading cause of cancer deaths among women, but Armenia was incapable of addressing its breast cancer crisis.

In response, AACA immediately organized a fact-finding mission. The findings were appalling. Before the establishment of the Wellness Center, breast cancer screening equipment in Armenia was decades old and grossly inaccurate. Breast cancer was often detected at advanced stages when treatment was no longer effective, and radical mastectomies were frequently performed even for non-malignant cysts. Cultural barriers and deeply rooted distrust of medical professionals – holdovers from Soviet times – made people reluctant to seek medical care. This dire situation, exacerbated by the lack of preventive healthcare and inadequate treatment, resulted in unnecessary suffering and many untimely deaths.

In 1997, AACA organized and led its first Medical Mission to Armenia. The team included medical professionals from the Washington Hospital Center in Washington, D.C., and Akron City Hospital in Akron, Ohio: two radiologists, Dr. Ann Archer and Dr. Richard Hirsch; two technologists, Michelle Parsons and Ruth Kathol-Browne; and biomedical engineer Lawrence Mowat. These dedicated Americans not only selected and trained their Armenian counterparts, but also helped install mammography units and other equipment to establish the only modern screening facility in the Caucasus Region.

On April 28, 1997, AACA opened the Armenian American Mammography University Center (later renamed the Armenian American Wellness Center) on the campus of Yerevan State Medical University in Yerevan, Armenia. At last, women throughout Armenia and the entire Caucasus Region had access to accurate mammograms, early breast cancer detection, and modern treatments. This was made possible through the financial support of the Armenian Diaspora in America, equipment and supplies donated by US-based corporations, and political support from both the American Embassy in Armenia and the Government of Armenia. The 3,000 square feet of space that the Wellness Center occupies was donated by the Armenian Government and renovated with funds raised in the United States by AACA. The Wellness Center also benefited from AACA’s partnership with its sister organization in Armenia, the Women’s Health Care Association.

The second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Armenia is cervical cancer, according to the Ministry of Health. Despite the Wellness Center’s Herculean strides against breast cancer, cervical cancer screening was still not widely available in Armenia. To address this need, AACA created a partnership between the Wellness Center and Dr. Emma Zargarian, an OB/GYN at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center (affiliated with Johns Hopkins University). The results were incredible. Staffed by a US-trained gynecologist, and furnished with modern medical equipment, the Wellness Center’s Gynecology Department had its grand opening in June, 2001. Today, the Center provides basic gynecological services, including annual Pap smears, diagnosis and treatment of pre-cancerous lesions, detection of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), infertility treatment, as well as menopausal counseling and assistance.

A Pathology Laboratory was also established in June, 2001, to facilitate the work of the Breast Health and Gynecology Departments. This was accomplished through a partnership with Professor Julia Albright, an immunologist from the George Washington University Hospital, and International Relief & Development (IRD), a Washington, D.C.-based NGO which provided equipment and supplies. Under the guidance of Dr. Camilla Cobb and Katherine Berberian of the University of Southern California’s Department of Cytopathology, Cytology and Fine Needle Aspiration (FNA) procedures for breast biopsies were also introduced at the Wellness Center.

In addition to its main facility in Yerevan, the Wellness Center operates two smaller satellite clinics that provide health care services to Armenians for whom travel to downtown Yerevan can prove difficult or prohibitively expensive.

The smaller of the two clinics is located on the outskirts of Yerevan.

The larger of the two clinics is a ten-room medical facility owned by the Wellness Center that opened in July, 2003. Located by Lake Sevan (the second highest lake in the world), sixty miles northeast of Yerevan, the city of Gavar has the highest per-capita rate of breast abnormalities in Armenia. Originally an old village house, the Clinic’s building was renovated extensively. Today, the Gavar Satellite Clinic is a veritable modern health care facility, providing women with mammograms, as well as all the gynecological services available at the Center in Yerevan. Family-centered Primary Care services are also provided to families, including men and children.

In July 2003, AACA partnered with Dr. Vicken Poochikian, a specialist in Internal Medicine, to provide general family medicine and preventive health care at the Gavar Satellite Clinic. In January 2004, the Wellness Center also began to offer basic family medical services in Yerevan, with additional medical training provided by Dr. John Poochigian of San Francisco’s Kaiser Permanente Group.

To provide screening services to rural Armenians, the Wellness Center began monthly Medical Outreach Missions in 1997. Using a van donated by the US State Department’s Humanitarian Assistance Program, the Center transports doctors and a portable ultrasound machine to remote villages, providing free-of-charge screenings across the countryside. Patients with abnormalities are referred to the Center in Yerevan for mammograms and further diagnosis. In 2005, the Wellness Center also began to provide basic gynecological and primary health care services during these Outreach Missions.

Public education is a vital component of the Wellness Center’s work. Awareness campaigns stress healthy lifestyle choices and the importance of annual mammograms, monthly breast self examinations, and annual Pap smears. The Center promotes its affordable, modern services through media, lectures, and the distribution of Armenian language informative pamphlets. Since 1997, the Wellness Center has observed October as Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Breast screening services are provided at fifty percent of the normal subsidized fee, or at no cost to the destitute. Cultural, scientific and social events are also held. These social and cultural activities culminate in the Health Walk, which has become a celebration of women’s health in Armenia. The Health Walk attracts over 3,000 participants each year and, as the Center’s most effective educational outreach program, is a vivid annual reminder of the importance of early detection. Celebrating its tenth anniversary this fall, the Health Walk is always led by the American Ambassador to Armenia and Armenia’s Minister of Health. The Wellness Center’s Accomplishments Since its Establishment in April, 1997:

Over 75,000 women have been screened, including over 300 from neighboring countries, and thousands of lives have been saved through early detection since 1997. Free services are provided to all those, almost 50%, who cannot afford the Center’s already modest subsidized fees.
Between 40 and 80 patients are screened every day, with the percentage of women seeking mammograms for annual check-ups increasing every year.
110 monthly Medical Outreach Missions have been organized to provide free breast and cervical screening to 7,600 patients in 61 remote villages and towns scattered throughout Armenia.
The Armenian American Cultural Association (AACA) has organized over 40 Medical Exchanges and 8 Medical Missions between Wellness Center staff and U.S. medical professionals, in order to provide training both on-site and in the United States to the Armenian medical staff.
The Center prides itself on creating a corruption-free workplace for its 37 staff members (including five consultants) and thousands of patients, and provides a fair and reliable income to each employee.
Educating the public about the importance of preventive health care and early detection of diseases through distribution of educational brochures, awareness campaigns, use of media, and Annual Health Walks has been an important mission of the Center.
Each year, the Annual Health Walk attracts thousands of participants including breast cancer survivors, medical professionals, members of the international community, students from Yerevan school system, and thousands of women.
The Wellness Center also serves as a teaching center in mammography for local medical students and provides a residency program for doctor’s specializing in radiology.
The Center has organized five scientific conferences with medical professionals from the US and Armenia, including two at the Academy of Sciences in Armenia, on topics such as “Medical Ethics in Armenia: Cancer Patients’ Right to Know the Truth.”
Through the Gynecology Department’s proficiency and modern technology, thirty-two “Miracle Babies” were born between 2004 and 2006 to thirty-two couples who had struggled with infertility for four to eighteen years.
The Center is among the very few institutions in Armenia that has won the trust of the public and gained the respect of the medical community for its accountability, transparency, as well as its high quality medical services.

[edit] Construction

The Government of Armenia, seeing the importance and the impact of work done on women’s healthcare, donated the entire six-story building, worth $800,000, to the Wellness Center in 2002, where our existing space is located on its first floor.

The building is currently undergoing a major renovation and expansion, based on Western norms. It is estimated to cost $3 million, with an additional $2 million needed for equipment and furnishings, which we hope to accomplish with the generosity of Diasporan Armenians from the USA and from another USAID grant through its ASHA Programs. When completed in 2007, the renovated Center will be a state-of-the-art Primary Health Care facility and will provide additional medical protocols and services, to serve not only women, but also men and children.

The expanded Wellness Center will include the following, floor by floor:

Basement – Laboratory (for Pathology, Histology, Cytopathology, and Hematology), Diagnostic Imaging (CT, X-ray, MRI), Bone Densitometry, Physical Rehabilitation and Lymphedema Management, a Breast Prosthesis Fitting Room, Storage Facilities and a Laundry Room.
First Floor – Breast Health, Gynecology, Pharmacy, Reception Area and Administrator’s Offices.
Second Floor – Family Medicine including Pediatrics, Mini-Lab, Medical Library, Learning Resource Center (LRC), Urology and Prostate Cancer Screening, and Dermatology.
Third Floor – Teaching Center and Administrative/Accounting Offices.
Fourth Floor – Outpatient Surgical Complex and Chemotherapy Treatment Facility.
Fifth Floor – Multi-Purpose Hall for Conferences & Seminars.

AACA’s vision is to create a “Mini-Mayo Clinic” in that part of the world that will provide not only quality diagnosis but also quality treatment on site. The Center will be accessible to all Armenians, as well as to all other citizens of the neighboring countries to promote understanding and compassion among people in conflict, which will be our personal challenge for peace and renewal in the Caucasus Region.