Going Global: Site assessment in Armenia

Heart to Heart site assessment team explore the Republic Square in central Yerevan. The Republic Square has been described as Yerevan's "architectural highlight" and the city’s "most outstanding architectural ensemble.”

Last week, Heart to Heart program director Albina Popova, board president Frank Cetta, MD, Heart to Heart board member Lizbeth Hasse, and Tigran Akobyan, MD traveled to Yerevan, Armenia. Their trip was the second of two on-the-ground site assessment visits to explore possibilities for long term educational collaborations, laying the groundwork for advancing and expanding cardiac care nationwide.

Situated in the crossroads of Europe and Asia, with a population of roughly 3 million, the country of Armenia is about the size of Maryland, and home to a rich and ancient culture.

Our Heart to Heart leadership team set out to assess (1) the potential to expand cardiac care nationwide to ensure all children born with heart defects have access to treatment; (2) the viability of incorporating Heart to Heart’s talented cardiac specialists in neighboring Russia to help Armenian physicians expand and advance heart care. To this end, our team held meetings with leading medical thought leaders at the Ministry of Health, as well as at the Nork-Marash Medical Center.

More than 400 children are born with CHD each year in Armenia. Founded in 1994, Nork-Marash Medical Center, affiliated with Yerevan State Medical University, is one of the largest centers in the Transcaucasian region, serving thousands of patients with heart disease every year. Despite Nork-Marash Medical Center’s accomplishments, the demand for treatment exceeds capacity, resulting in a backlog of hundreds of children waiting for surgery. Heart to Heart is excited at the prospect of working with the Armenian cardiac team to help expand their programmatic reach to save more children in need.

Please stay tuned for more Going Global updates! We will share with you how you can play a critically important role in creating a world in which all children and adults, regardless of where they are born or where they live, will have access to life-saving heart care.

Thank you as always for your ongoing support.

The Heart to Heart site assessment team observed in one of Nork-Marash Medical Center's intensive care units. All of their ICUs and wards are combined pediatric and adult cardiac.

Heart to Heart board member Lizbeth Hasse, Russian medical colleague Tigran Akobyan, MD medical volunteer and board president Frank Cetta, MD, Armenian Ministry of Health advisor Karen Zohrabyan, MD, and Yelena Simonyants, public relations officer at Nork-Marash Medical Center before visiting the operating room.