Armenia

Background:

Accessibility to free, quality health services for children and mothers in rural Armenia is extremely limited. It is estimated that 42.9% of the country still live below the poverty line, which has led to a drop in immunization by 42% in 2006. The Shinuhayr Primary Healthcare Clinic is the only comprehensive clinic available in the region servicing its surrounding seven villages with a population of over 6,500. There is a great need for perinatal, pediatric, cardiovascular, infectious disease, orthopedic, and geriatric services in this region. Approximately 352 families fall under the ‘socially vulnerable’ category and benefit from the services of RMF’s project. In addition, 256 disabled persons, 524 children ages 0-7 years and 1,382 school children ages 8-17 years, and 52 single mothers benefit from improved healthcare services.

Working closely with our program partner, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS), RMF supports the Shinuhayr Primary Healthcare Clinic to provide the clinic with critical medicine inventories and medical supplies. This project indirectly impacts all members of the eight communities it serves. It directly impacts those socially vulnerable individuals, including members of large families, pensioners and children, who present with acute or chronic illnesses during a clinic or house visit. RMF also provides these patients with free medications and makes sure that patients are followed up on by RMF staff to assure their continuum of care. Special attention is provided to chronically ill patients with cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes. These patients are seen every month by our nurses to assess their health status and to ensure medication compliance.

Project Objectives:

• Continue providing high standard medical services;
• Extend the provision of medical services;
• Increase the project capacity in the communities served;
• Observe the impact of the project;
• Promote the RMF ambulance as a tool for the community to facilitate their access to seek care;
• Continue providing free medications to all in need, especially to chronically ill patients;
• Cooperate with schools to identify the problems of disadvantaged children

Results and/or accomplishments achieved during this reporting period:

• 114 children vaccinated.
• 94 house calls made.
• 195 patients given their free medications.
• Total number of births – 12; total number of deaths – 14

Summary of RMF-sponsored activities carried out during the reporting period under each project objective:

• During the Second Quarter of 2012, home visits were continuedusing the RMF ambulance to visit and treat patients who were too ill to come to the clinic.  The conditions of patients seen ranged from diabetes to heart disease, asthma, arthritis, colitis, epilepsy and others.
• Patients visiting the clinic are addressed with care and receive high quality medical services, treatmentand prescriptionmedicine.
• A total of 195 patients received their monthly medicines.

Impact this project has on the community (who is benefiting and how): 

• Our project directly impacts the sick members of the socially disadvantaged and large families in Shinuhayr and surrounding villages as well as sick pensioners, minors and children.  Upon their visit to the clinic and check up, RMF provides these patients with free medications as instructed by the doctor on their prescription.  These patients are then followed up by RMF staff to assure their continuum of care and road to recovery.  The project indirectly impacts all members of the 8 communities.
• Each month our nurses contacted mothers to remind them about childhood vaccinations and informed them of the date when free vaccinations were provided at the clinic.  After the children received their vaccinations, our nurses made follow-up calls to monitor the children’s health condition and intervened where help was needed.
• Special attention is provided to chronically ill patients with cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes.  These patients were followed up each month by our nurses to assure medication compliance and assess their health status.

Number served/number of direct project beneficiaries: 

The total number of direct project beneficiaries during the Second Quarter is 195 (81 from Shinuhayr; 10 from Khot; 12 from Halidzor; 34 from Tatev; 33 from Svarantsand 25fromTandzatap). 98 of the direct beneficiaries were adult males, 73 adult females and 24 children.

Summary of RMF-sponsored medical supply distribution and use:

 A total of 218 units of medicines were dispensed

Success Stories:

1) While doing a checkup visit to an RMF beneficiary with ischemia, 56-year-old Slavik Marutyan from Svarants, an alarming situation was revealed. His wife, 45-year-old Arevik Marutyan was in bed, unable to walk. Her feetwere swollen and she had a bad headache. The cause of her situation was not clear, since Arevik was avoiding additional expenses on her health, because of the destitute situation of the family.  Arevik has 4 sons: the younger one is still at school, the second was taken to the army, and the other two live in the village and are unemployed, unable to help their parents. The mother’s only dream is that they move to the city to find better living.

After a long conversation, she was persuadedto visit a doctor. A few days later she came to the clinic, where she was diagnosed with anemia and phlebectasia. RMF provided her with free medication prescribed by the doctor and she is on her way to recovery. 

2) While visiting the patients in Tandzatap, the RMF nurse was approached for an urgent allergy situation.  When the RMF staff entered the house of the patient, they were shocked by the dire condition of 82-year-old Anushavard Isaverdyan’s house who lives with her niece, 52-year-old Karine. 

Karine was in bed crying.  She had been bitten by a bee and had a severe allergic reaction with her face very swollen.  She received first aid and was calmed down.

While helping Karine, the nurse noticed that Anushavard herself was not well. Her broken hand was hurt, when she lifted Karine and she received some first aid treatment and medication to help with her hand. When the nurses were leaving, Karine was well enough to accompany them to the door.

3) When RMF nurses went for a regular check-up visit to 75-year-old Qnarik Melkonyan in Tandzatap, who suffers from osteochondrosis, she was helping her husband in the garden. Her son, 35-year-old Volodya, who is disabled, invited them in to wait. Volodya is unable to help his parents since 1997, when helping soldiers to survive from snow, his two legs were frostbitten/frozen. He has been worried about his parents’ health, as a malignant tumor has recently been found behind his father’s ear.

Soon Qnarik entered the gates. The old woman had a bent back and was in pain. She was prescribed medicine and after a while, although the pain had decreased, she started to cry and was weeping for her husband as his situation was discussed.

As often happens, the neighbors came in to meet the nurses and to also share their health concerns. RMF staff is seen as friends who are with them when no others are.

4) It was time for Mariam Tevosyan’s regular check-up in Yerevan and corset change.

On June 8^th, after X-ray examination and check-up, before sending Mariam to the Prosthetics center, Dr. Vahe Yevryaninformed us that the corset is not a final solution and she will eventually need an operation.  RMF Armenia is currently looking for ways to fund/subsidize the operation needed for Mariam’s spinal correction.