Fresno doctors to pay their fourth visit to Armenia in fall

Most of the doctors who are joining the Armenian Medical Mission are Americans.

Berj Apkarian, Honorary Consul of Armenia in Fresno, who organized the mission, says it is quite logical when a doctor of the Armenian origin visits his homeland as part of a charity mission and provides free assistance to those in need. But it is worthy of admiration and pride when Americans, who do not have anything in common with Armenia, do the same.

The Armenian medical mission will visit Armenia for the fourth time from October 28 to November 14, 2018. The doctors will spend the first week in the regions of Armenia, and the second week in Nagorno-Karabakh. These dates, according to Apkarian, were chosen not accidentally: the doctors expressed willingness to be present at the celebrations of the 2800th anniversary of Yerevan.

This year the mission brought together around 35 doctors, and most of them participated in previous missions.

 “For us, Armenia is our homeland, but for them it is a foreign country. Despite this, from year to year they come to Armenia without getting a penny. They conduct surgeries and treat people here. This gives them a sense of satisfaction, as they understand that they are changing people's lives for the better,” he emphasized.

These missions are organized thanks to the financial support of the Armenian community of Fresno, which covers travel expenses and the stay of American doctors in Armenia, not to mention the purchase of equipment for regional hospitals. If there is a chance, the equipment is bought in Armenia to help local entrepreneurs, since the transportation of medical equipment from U.S. is rather expensive and takes more time.

The mission also paid for the repair and re-equipment of the operating room in the Akhuryan medical center.

“We are careful when spending the money raised by the community in order to preserve people's trust in our work. For us, it is important that people are confident that every penny is spent for the intended purpose. We do not spend money on unnecessary things,” he added.

According to him, during the upcoming visit he plans to hold a number of meetings with the leaders of a number of regional hospitals to find out what kind of assistance and what equipment they need. He also met with representatives of the Armenian Defense Ministry to clarify how the doctors from Fresno can help Armenian soldiers, if needed.  Apkarian and head of the military medicine department Gayane Hovhannisyan discussed the needs of the wounded soldiers. The Honorary Consular promised to bring the necessary equipments, as well as specialists who could be useful, first of all, surgeons, neurosurgeons and physiotherapists.

During their visits, the members of the Armenian Medical Mission give lectures to share their experience with the Armenian colleagues. They are often accompanied by students and graduates of the Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi. They usually have a good command of English and help doctors and patients understand each other. 

However, the Honorary Consular is confident that they have to seek new ways of rendering assistance and support to Armenia.  In the near future he hopes to organize a new program providing a chance to the graduates and young Armenian doctors to work in U.S.-based hospitals within 4-6 weeks and to learn by experience of their American colleagues.

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