The Glendale Adventist Medical Center missionaries in front of the Noyemberyan Hospital in Armenia, during the joint ArmeniaFund-GAMC Medical Mission. (Photo: Areg Balayan)
Free Medical and Surgical Services for Noyemberyan Patients Tripled!
LOS ANGELES—Glendale Adventist Medical Center (GAMC) and Armenia Fund held a joint medical mission providing free medical services and advanced surgeries, from October 13-20, 2016 in Noyemberyan, Armenia’s most remote borderline city, 2km from the border with Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The medical mission was a result of joint, careful planning between the two organizations since March 2016. Led by the hospital’s President/CEO Kevin Roberts, the medical mission team consisted of 42 doctors, surgeons, nurses, and healthcare professionals from the United States.
In order to ensure optimal operational efficiency, an advance team of medical professionals from GAMC arrived at the Noyemberyan Hospital prior to the start of the medical mission to help prepare the medical and surgical equipment, supplies, and pharmaceuticals that were donated to the Noyemberyan Hospital within the framework of the project. Armenia Fund transported 2.5 tons of supplies, months in advance and oversaw its clearance to Armenia.
Patients are directed to primary care physicians and specialists. Afterwards they received medicines donated by the mission to treat various chronic conditions — all free of charge. (Photo: Areg Balayan)
Building upon last year’s successful mission, GAMC tripled the surgical service line of the mission to include ophthalmological, gynecological, orthopedic surgeries, in addition to the general and oral/maxillofacial surgeries. After 5 days of back to back operations, the total number of surgeries reached 110 – an unprecedented record even in Armenia’s history.
The mission significantly expanded service lines for women’s health, most importantly screenings for cervical cancer, and a leading and growing cause of death in Armenia, especially amongst the rural population. The mission was able to perform these screenings by collecting pap smears and having them analyzed and read by the team pathologist from the United States. Physicians would later interpret the results to Noyemberyan patients and provide further care.
“The difference between last year and this year was phenomenal. We learned so much and applied those lessons for about a three-fold result! The people of Noyemberyan are so appreciative of these missionaries and our missionaries appreciate them! There is no greater joy in life than using your God-given talents to bless others, without expecting anything in return. It is pure joy and at the same time thoroughly exhausting. We can’t wait to do it again next year!â€
