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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.

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