Honorary Consul of Armenia in Fresno calls 15th medical mission a success

Fresno (KSEE/KGPE) — The Honorary Consul of Armenia is calling the 15th medical mission to Armenia “high caliber.”

From Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, Honorary Consul of Armenia in Fresno Berj Apkarian and a team of medical professionals from around the country and world were in Armenia for the medical mission.

The overall goal is to establish lifelong ties between medical professionals in America and medical professionals in countries like Armenia to save lives.

The first part of this mission encompassed the 3rd annual international medical conference from Sept. 23 through 26 at Yerevan State Medical University. For the first time, nursing education and lectures on nurse practitioners were provided at this conference.

Apkarian calls nurses the most essential workforce in healthcare, and with his experience being in healthcare for over 37 years, he knows countries like Armenia need upgrades to their nursing foundation.

The conference was opened by Kristina Kvien, United States Ambassador to the Republic of Armenia, along with Dr. Armen Muradyan, the Dean of the Medical School. Topics covered everything from disaster response to AI in medicine, being discussed by professionals from the University of Irvine, the Cleveland Clinic, UCSF, and more.

During the conference, Apkarian was also surprised by being awarded the title of Honorary Professor of Public Health Faculty. This was presented by the President of the Yerevan State Medical University. This took place during day one of the conference.

Apkarian calls the conference “critical” to keep Armenia’s healthcare on pace with current standards. Along with the conference was the deployment of rehabilitation teams to the Armenian regions of Gyumri and Armavir.

Because of this year’s success with assessment, Apkarian says next year’s rehabilitation team will be larger.

Fresno’s Honorary Consul believes there will always be a need for medical missions, and Apkarian is looking ahead to more successful missions.