Armenian American Wellness Center

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

The Wellness Center promotes the early and accurate detection of breast and cervical cancer, and provides relatively low cost primary health care services to women in Armenia.

History
Armenia's transition to a democratic, market-based society began with its independence from the Soviet Union in September, 1991. The collapse of the Soviet economy, combined with the lingering ruin of the devastating 1988 earthquake, left post-Soviet Armenia in economic shambles. 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 1997, AACA decided to explore the issue and organized 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 who selected and trained Armenian medical professionals and 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. 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 second leading cause of cancer deaths among women in Armeniais cervical cancer, according to the Ministry of Health. 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). 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.

Other Locations
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, 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. In Gavar, family-centered Primary Care services are also provided to families, including men and children.

Outreach
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.

Education
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. 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.

Construction
The Government of Armenia, seeing the importance and the impact of work done on women’s healthcare, donated the entire six-story Wellness Center building, worth $800,000, to the Wellness Center in 2002.

The building is currently undergoing a major renovation and expansion, based on Western norms. When completed, the renovated Center will be a state-of-the-art Primary Health Care facility and will provide a wider array of services to serve not only women, but also men and children.

Criticism
While the Wellness Center aims to provide services that are affordable to Armenian women, many critics note that even prices that are low by Western standards can be prohibitively expensive in Armenia, which is plagued with widespread poverty. These critics cite that the center has, over the past few years, been treating fewer women -- a potential result of the expense associated with visiting its facility. While the Center points out that women classified as "indigent" are able to receive free services, the cost nonetheless remains prohibitive for even some middle class women.

Links
Source: The Armenian American Cultural Association, http://www.aacainc.org/

Source: http://www.usaid.gov/locations/europe_eurasia/press/pub_rec/outstanding_citzn_achvmnt_rbalian.html