December 21st was a very special day for the children of Armavir region, west of Armenia’s capital of Yerevan:
Following the September 2007 opening of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) in the regional capital also named Armavir, 22 local doctors – mostly family doctors –had undergone special training by Yerevan specialists, aimed at increasing their skills and knowledge about the early diagnosis of children with disabilities.
The general aim of the trainings, and a key focal point in the Mission East project ‘A Health Start’, is to ensure that hundreds of children who until now would otherwise only be diagnosed later in life – often too late – can now be given a correct diagnosis as early as possible, and thus in many cases the chance of timely and adequate treatment and follow-up.
Kim Hartzner, Managing Director of Mission East and himself a medical doctor, has been based in Armenia since August of 2006, and spent a long day in Armavir on December 21st: First, he took part in the final training sessions of the Armavir doctors, carried out by prominent Yerevan neurologist, Dr. Artsruni Hakobyan. Then, he spent time with the specialist staff at the CDRC, seeing how three children were given follow-up care by the CDRC staff, consisting of a pediatrician, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a special educator and a physical therapist.
Afterwards, Kim Hartzner joined the 22 doctors and a range of partner NGO and local authority representatives, including the District Governor of Armavir, at a ceremony where special certificates were handed over to the 22 doctors. The certificates were given for their participation in the course “Developmental delays and child disability” – and now part of Continuous Medical Examination for pediatricians of Armenia.
Finally, the day was rounded up by a keynote presentation of the results of a survey carried out by Mission East and our partners, which described the fate of the hundreds of children in Armavir whom we and our medical partner ‘discovered’ and diagnosed with various kinds of disabilities. Many of these children had never been to see a doctor, and of those who had actually been to see a doctor, many had never received any follow-up care.
This situation of neglect and lack of attention is now undergoing a dramatic change, with the establishing of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center and with the ongoing training of Armavir doctors.
Following the September 2007 opening of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center (CDRC) in the regional capital also named Armavir, 22 local doctors – mostly family doctors –had undergone special training by Yerevan specialists, aimed at increasing their skills and knowledge about the early diagnosis of children with disabilities.
The general aim of the trainings, and a key focal point in the Mission East project ‘A Health Start’, is to ensure that hundreds of children who until now would otherwise only be diagnosed later in life – often too late – can now be given a correct diagnosis as early as possible, and thus in many cases the chance of timely and adequate treatment and follow-up.
Kim Hartzner, Managing Director of Mission East and himself a medical doctor, has been based in Armenia since August of 2006, and spent a long day in Armavir on December 21st: First, he took part in the final training sessions of the Armavir doctors, carried out by prominent Yerevan neurologist, Dr. Artsruni Hakobyan. Then, he spent time with the specialist staff at the CDRC, seeing how three children were given follow-up care by the CDRC staff, consisting of a pediatrician, a speech therapist, an occupational therapist, a psychologist, a special educator and a physical therapist.
Afterwards, Kim Hartzner joined the 22 doctors and a range of partner NGO and local authority representatives, including the District Governor of Armavir, at a ceremony where special certificates were handed over to the 22 doctors. The certificates were given for their participation in the course “Developmental delays and child disability” – and now part of Continuous Medical Examination for pediatricians of Armenia.
Finally, the day was rounded up by a keynote presentation of the results of a survey carried out by Mission East and our partners, which described the fate of the hundreds of children in Armavir whom we and our medical partner ‘discovered’ and diagnosed with various kinds of disabilities. Many of these children had never been to see a doctor, and of those who had actually been to see a doctor, many had never received any follow-up care.
This situation of neglect and lack of attention is now undergoing a dramatic change, with the establishing of the Child Development and Rehabilitation Center and with the ongoing training of Armavir doctors.
Five doctors in conversation at the CDRC: From left to right, Managing Director Kim Hartzner, CDRC pediatrician Anna Arushanyan, medical technical expert Anna Avetisyan of Mission East, rehabilitologist Gayane Zakaryan and child development expert Ira Tovmasyan - latter two of Mission East partner Arabkir Medical Center.
Five doctors in conversation at the CDRC: From left to right, Managing Director Kim Hartzner, CDRC pediatrician Anna Arushanyan, medical technical expert Anna Avetisyan of Mission East, rehabilitologist Gayane Zakaryan and child development expert Ira Tovmasyan - latter two of Mission East partner Arabkir Medical Center.
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Mission East is a Danish international relief and development organisation, working in Eastern Europe and Asia. Our aim is to deliver relief aid, to create and support long-term development projects and to empower local aid organisations to carry on the work independently. Making no racial, religious or political distinction between those in need, we aim to assist the most vulnerable. |