Our
first action in Artsakh dates back to 1998 when we established our
first dental clinic in the war-devastated historic town of Shushi.
Since then, we have successfully built, equipped and currently fully
maintain seven free clinics. These include six dental clinics in
different regional centers of Artsakh (including a mobile unit for
rural Artsakh) and one women's health clinic in the Capital, Stepanakert.
All our clinics operate under the same principles:
- Our services are totally free for our patients.
- All building costs, equipment costs, supplies and materials, staff salaries, including pension plans and taxes are provided by the Diaspora.
- The local government participates with water, electricity and telephone.
We
have a wonderful team of 21 full-time local staff totally dedicated
to the service of the Artsakh population. Our clinics see on average
24000 patients every year. TOTALLY FREE !
Our clinics provide
a wide range of treatment and places special emphasis on PREVENTIVE
measures and hygiene instructions. We also provide regularly continuing
education programs to insure proper Professional Development for
our staff.
We operate under the umbrella Non-Governmental-Organization
called "HAND-IN-HAND". This NGO is officially registered
in Armenia and Artsakh. It is a collaborative effort between Diasporic
medical and dental associations from Toronto, Montreal, Boston,
Paris, Lyon and Beirut, and the Armenian International Dental
Association (A.I.D.A). Our efforts are financed by our numerous
and generous friends and donors.
Our mission is to help deliver and
improve Health-Care to the general population and particularly
to the children of Artsakh. Hand in hand we shall contribute towards
the complex task of Nation-Building until the local economic circumstances
allow self-sustainability.
We welcome your suggestions and
invite you to join our team in any way you can.
Zareh Ouzounian
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