Hayastan All-Armenian Fund begins reconstruction of Delivery Ward at Abovian Maternity Hospital

PanARMENIAN.Net - The Maternity Hospital of Abovian, in Armenia's Kotayk region, became the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund's latest beneficiary this month, as the fund began to rebuild the facility's Delivery Ward. The initiative is sponsored by the Fund's Canada (Montreal) affiliate, with financing by local benefactors Vrej and Imasdouhi Nigoghossian, the Fund said in a press release.

With demolition work already completed, construction crews are currently building new partitions at the Delivery Ward. The other components of the project include the renovation and retiling of the floors as well as the replacement of all doors and windows.

Commenting on the much-anticipated reconstruction, Dr. Larissa Madoyan, chief physician of the Maternity Hospital, said that the 25-year facility's disrepair has had an adverse effect on the quality of healthcare. “In terms of inspiring a sense of security and confidence among expectant mothers, the improved conditions of the ward will be of foremost importance. In turn, a mother's well-being is crucial equally to her newborn and the medical staff caring for her,” Dr. Madoyan said, adding that already this year 193 babies were delivered at the hospital.

In 2009 there were 1,422 births at the Delivery Ward. In addition, 247 walk-in patients received care, 347 women underwent various surgical procedures, and 17,656 pregnant women were provided with medical consultation at the Maternity Hospital, which serves seven urban areas and close to 60 rural communities of Kotayk.

“Every parent seeks to ensure the healthiest and most comfortable environment possible for their newborn child,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund. “With this in mind, the renovation and, in this case, reconstruction of our homeland's aging maternity wards is an area of high priority for the fund. Perhaps the most heartwarming testament to the benefits of such projects is the marked increase of new births in a given community.”

Apart from the Abovian Maternity Hospital initiative, the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund is currently implementing several healthcare-development projects in Armenia. They include the construction of the Zangezur Cardiology Center in Goris and the reconstruction of the Noyemberian Hospital, the Delivery and Postnatal Department of the Maternity Ward at Surb Astvatsamayr Medical Center in Yerevan, and a wing of the Nork-Marash Medical Center, also in Yerevan.