Monday, March 31, 1997
HEALTH:
Funds provide neonatal center with training, equipmentBy Kathryn
Combs
Daily Bruin Contributor
Salpy Akaragian, a specialist in nursing education at UCLA, is a
portrait of dedication.
"I would never leave this place," she said with a smile on her
face. "Well, once I get bored I think I will, but I haven’t got
bored yet," she added.
Akaragian is part of a unique two-year partnership between the
country of Armenia and the UCLA Medical Center, which has provided
for the survival of five Armenian babies.
The United States Agency for International Development (USAID)/
American International Health Alliance (AIHA) project is designed
to aid 12 Eastern European countries with the development their
health care systems. All 12 of the countries targeted by this
program were former members of the Soviet bloc and are now
grappling with their newfound independence.
Akaragian became involved in this project in September 1995,
when she agreed to become point person for the $500,000 USAID/AIHA
program.
Under her direction, with the help of a skilled, UCLA-based team
of neonatal technicians and nurses, the government-sponsored
program has already produced tangible results.
In October 1996, UCLA provided two ventilator beds as part of
the plan to develop a more effective neonatal resuscitation
center.
"It’s satisfying to see outcomes in such a short time,"said
Akaragian.
Since October, six babies have been treated by the neonatal
intensive care unit, five of whom survived.
"The mortality of the babies was about 30 percent. Now it has
decreased to 11 percent due to the efforts of UCLA and other
people," she said.
"We taught them (hospital staff) immediate emergency care so
that they could treat these babies within the critical time period.
We moved them from the basic level of care to an intermediate
level," she added.
One of Akaragian’s primary goals in joining the program was to
elevate the level of neonatal care at the Erebouni Medical Center
in Yerevan, Armenia, UCLA’s sister hospital in this program.
In addition to saving lives, Akaragian’s fund-raising efforts
have resulted in the contribution of over $250,000 in supplies,
equipment and professional training time to this project, both by
the Armenian community of Los Angeles and the medical communities
of both countries.
Akaragian, who is also the founder and past-president of the
Armenian-American Nurses Association in Los Angeles, is now working
with the Erebouni Medical Center to develop a sound transport
team.
This transport team would allow sick babies to be brought to the
UCLA Medical Center from the Erebouni Medical Center for critical
surgical procedures not yet available in Armenia, said
Akaragian.
"I’m very impressed with her ability to organize these efforts
effectively and with her commitment to the program," said Dr.
Edward McCabe, executive chair with the department of
pediatrics.
Dr. Cynthia Barrett, Unit Director for Perinatal Services at
UCLA agreed, spoke of the challenges Armenia will face in the
coming years.
"It’s great  they need so much help. You’re talking about
a country that has to ration electricity during the winter," said
Barrett, adding that the USAID/ AIHA program must be designed in
accordance with such limitations.
Although program participants must put in long hours and travel
extensively, Akaragian said that the benefits far outweigh these
costs.
"The true reward is really to see the outcomes and to see how
fast they’re moving and how much they appreciate what they are
learning from us," said Akaragian, who works 30 hours a week in
addition to her responsibilities as a nursing education specialist
at UCLA.
In addition to the neonatal resuscitation center, UCLA has also
helped establish a four-year baccalaureate degree program in
nursing, which since 1995 has admitted 23 students.
"It is the very first baccalaureate degree program in Armenia in
nursing,"said Akaragian. "By the year 1999 we will have our first
23 graduates."
Although her professional commitment has kept her tied to UCLA,
it is clear that Akaragian’s dedication reaches beyond the Bruin
community.
"When I met her, it was obvious, her enthusiasm of seeing this
program through. She’s somebody who has a commitment to the people
as well as the program," said McCabe.