|
11.06.2009 11:09
 The Hayastan All-Armenian Fund has begun construction of a
cardiology center in Armenia’s Syunik Region. The facility, to be built in Akner, a community adjoining the City of Goris, will be affiliated with Yerevan’s Center of Cardiology. The new hospital will be the only one of its kind serving southern Armenia and Artsakh.
The project, with an initial cost estimate of approximately U.S. $820,000, is financed by the fund’s French affiliate; the French-Armenian Doctors’ Association (Association de Santé Franco-Arménienne), based in Marseille; and the department of Bouches-du-
Rhône, a major administrative area in the south of France. A considerable portion of the amount was bequeathed to the fund by French-Armenian benefactor Krikor Shahinian.
“This trilateral collaboration, forged in Bouches-du-Rhône, one of France’s largest departments, is further proof of the great trust enjoyed by the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund in the French-Armenian community as well as with French regional authorities,” said Bedros Terzian, chair of the fund’s French affiliate.
The construction of the two-story cardiology center started in May and currently its foundations are being laid. When completed, the hospital will have a main ward with 16 beds and a polyclinic capable of accommodating 20 ambulatory patients per day. In addition, the grounds surrounding the future hospital will undergo extensive landscaping, including the planting of trees.
According to Spartak Minasyan, mayor of Akner, the establishment of the cardiology center will lead to the creation of ancillary businesses and jobs in the area, fostering economic development in neighboring communities.
“The availability of a full-fledged cardiology center in Syunik means that patients in the region as well as Artsakh will have access to high-quality healthcare locally and will no longer need to travel to Yerevan to receive treatment,” said Ara Vardanyan, executive director of the Hayastan All-Armenian Fund.
|
