Detroit ARS Members, Supporters Mark 101st Anniversary

Carol Jaffarian Presents Lecture on Health Initiatives in Armenia

On Sun., Sept. 25, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) Mid-Council of Detroit sponsored a luncheon and program at the Birmingham Athletic Club in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., to mark the 101^stanniversary of the ARS.

After lunch was served, Ani Attar, an ARS Eastern U.S. Regional Board member, welcomed the members and guests and introduced the speaker of the day, Carol Jaffarian, currently the secretary of the Regional Board and instructor of nursing at the University of Massachusetts, Worcester. Jaffarian delivered an illustrated talk on the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Project in Armenia from its inception to its implementation. She explained the project, which was first conceived in 2001, was sponsored by a grant from the World AIDS Foundation and was a collaborative effort between the ARS and the University of Massachusetts, Worcester.

In 2001, Jaffarian was working as a nurse practitioner at the HIV eClinic at UMass Medical Center when the ARS contacted her about implementing an HIV program at the ARS Mother and Child Clinic in Akhourian, outside the city of Gyumri in Armenia. Cognizant that HIV infection was present in Armenia, that addressing HIV infection was a UN millennium goal, and that the ARS was planning to soon expand the Mother and Child Clinic to include a birthing center, the ARS realized the importance of initiating HIV testing and counseling at the clinic, as well as educating patients and community members about HIV infection.

As little data was available concerning HIV in Armenia, the ARS sponsored a fact-finding trip to Armenia for Jaffarian and her colleague, Carol Bova, in 2003, to perform HIV needs assessment for grant funding. Jaffarian approached the challenge with the same enthusiasm she showed during her talk: She took classes to learn Armenian and traveled to Armenia on a home-building project to acquaint herself with the country.

During her talk, she showed photos of the Mother and Child Clinic and Birthing Center. Established by the chapters of the ARS Eastern U.S Region and the crown jewel of the ARS’s health initiatives in Armenia, the center serves Armenian women and children from Akhourian, Gyumri, and neighboring villages, as well as nearby Georgia, with free prenatal and post-natal care, and annually registers about 1,200 births. Jaffarian confirmed that the center was a modern, well-run, and well-equipped facility with a dedicated staff of health professionals and an ambulance to help transport patients.

In 2004, the HIV/AIDS Education and Prevention Project was realized with a grant from the World AIDS Foundation. In total, 298 Armenians received HIV education, including the staff of the Mother and Child Clinic and Birthing Center, physicians and nurses from other area clinics, student nurses, college educators and students, center patients, and members of the community. Healthcare professionals received more advanced education, including maternal-child transmission, testing, counseling, and medication management.

The project was successful in changing perceptions about HIV and AIDS. All educational materials were translated into Armenian and made available to future healthcare workers in the center. It also included government certification of the clinic staff in testing and counseling, sponsorship of the First and Second National HIV Conferences in Armenia, and a presentation of the results of the program at the UN in New York.

Jaffarian concluded that while the results of the project greatly exceeded expectations, there is still much to do in Armenia to improve healthcare. She pointed out that too often women are hesitant to seek preventative healthcare, in the form of annual screenings like pap smears and mammograms—care we take for granted in the U.S. In response to a request from the clinic staff to initiate a Women’s Health Program, the Women’s Health Needs Assessment, a collaborative effort between the ARS and UMass, was carried out in 2010, with funding from a Global Health Grant from the UMass Medical School.

Jaffarian said with pride that she was very well received in Armenia, and that women were eager to learn more about health issues. Following her presentation, Jaffarian answered questions from members and guests, who expressed their appreciation for the work she has done. It was heartening to learn of the important role played by the ARS in the homeland, and the exemplary work of ARS members like Carol Jaffarian in making a difference in the lives of so many women and children in Armenia.