On World Drowning Prevention Day (July 25), WHO released an investment case on drowning prevention showing how just two actions – investing in day care for pre-school aged children and teaching basic swim skills to school-age children – could protect millions of lives. Each dollar invested in these actions can yield benefits up to nine times the original value.

Drowning is an underappreciated but lethal public health issue. It has caused over 2.5 million deaths in the last decade, with an alarming 90% of these fatalities occurring in low- and middle-income countries. Across all age groups, children aged 1–4 years and 5–9 years experience the highest drowning rates, highlighting the need for immediate action to protect future generations.

Yet effective solutions exist. The new investment case shows that by 2050, increased global investment in just two measures could save the lives of over 774 000 children, prevent close to 1 million non-fatal child drownings, and avert severe and life-limiting injuries for 178 000 drowning victims.

It could also prevent potential economic losses of over $400 billion in low- and middle-income countries, and provide cumulative benefits valued at around $9 for each $1 invested. Countries such as Bangladesh, South Africa, Thailand and Vietnam have already invested in these cost-effective interventions, benefiting children and their families by reducing their risk of drowning, while simultaneously providing new opportunities for improved health, development and well-being.

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VIEW FACT SHEET ON DROWNING

Originally Published by The Armenian Mirror-Spectator, July 27, 2023 Issue.

By Stephan S. Nigohosian

The Armenian American Healthcare Professionals Organization (AAHPO) honored four healthcare professionals for demonstrating exceptional leadership and service during the Covid-19 pandemic. The event, held during the organization’s Annual Winter Brunch, recognized AAHPO Board of Directors John P. Bilezikian, MD; Kim Hekimian, PhD; and Tsoline Kojaoghlanian, MD; as well as AAHPO Member Mihran Seferian, MD.

From left, AAHPO Vice President Garbis Baydar, MD; John Bilezikian, MD; Tsoline Kojaoghlanian, MD; Mihran Seferian, MD; AAHPO President Lawrence V. Najarian, MD (not pictured: Kim Hekimian, PhD)

During the global pandemic, the four dedicated individuals were located at the epicenter of the overloaded and fatigued healthcare system in the metropolitan New York City region. In March 2020, the gravity of the pandemic became clear when recorded cases of the coronavirus grew exponentially in New York, from one to 89 to 75,795 in just 30 days. “Our region was blessed with countless Healthcare Heroes, including our honorees, who bravely cared for the sickest patients during the COVID-19 pandemic,” said AAHPO President Lawrence Najarian, MD. “It is worth noting that within our organization, the actions of these four members in particular distinguished themselves in unique ways during extraordinary circumstances. Their actions benefitted countless numbers of people, including those in and outside of the Armenian community.”

Each of the honorees have volunteered their leadership, expertise, and time toward serving the critical healthcare needs of citizens in Armenia and Artsakh, as well as in the United States. Their inspiring commitment, support, and compassion during the Covid-19 pandemic served to demonstrate their dedication to the well-being of others worldwide:

John P. Bilezikian, MD, a leading endocrinologist and medical researcher at New York’s Columbia University, was recognized for his contribution to the body of scholarly publications that aided the understanding and treatment of COVID-19 at the beginning of the pandemic.

Kim Hekimian, PhD, a public health specialist and educator at New York’s Columbia University, was honored for tirelessly educating the medical community and the public by interpreting COVID-19 data from the U.S. and Armenia.

Tsoline Kojaoghlanian, MD, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at New York’s Maimonides Children’s Hospital, was honored for tirelessly educating medical and lay communities with the latest COVID-19 information through articles and public webinars.

Mihran Seferian, MD, an infectious disease specialist, was recognized for caring for the sickest patients at Holy Name Hospital (NJ), considered by many to be Ground Zero for COVID-19 during the darkest days of 2020.

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According to a 2016 study of about 3,000 people, working even one more year beyond retirement age was associated with a 9% to 11% lower risk of dying during the 18-year study period, regardless of health. Working longer has benefits such as keeping people mentally engaged with work they value and/or enjoy, having a sense of purpose, and preventing or reducing loneliness.

Below are two inspiring stories about the value of “unretiring” to work longer, or simply continuing to work well beyond the traditional retirement age.

Why this 100-year-old Woman is Never Retiring

When Jayne Burns turned 100 last summer (photo at right), she told her friends that she had one wish: “to keep working.” She’s had the same part-time job as a fabric cutter at Joann Fabric and Crafts store in Mason, Ohio for 26 years — and it’s still one of her favorite ways to spend time.

“I enjoy what I do, so I want to keep doing it,” she says. “I’ll work for as long as I can or as long as they’ll have me.”

Burns — who turns 101 on July 26 — didn’t plan on working past 100. She tried retiring several times throughout her 70s and 80s, then would “unretire” just a few months later, taking bookkeeping jobs at veterinarian offices and accounting firms. Prior to joining Joann, Burns was a bookkeeper for most of her career.

“I like the routine, I like to keep moving,” she says.

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Advice from the Oldest Practicing Physician

The world’s oldest practicing doctor knows a thing or two about how to live a long and happy life — but you might not like everything he has to say.

For Dr. Howard Tucker — who just turned 101 on July 10 — a key secret to his longevity is meaningful work.

Tucker received his medical degree from The Ohio State University College of Medicine in 1947 and he has practiced neurology for 75 years — eventually earning the Guinness World Records title of the world’s oldest practicing physician.

The chipper centenarian has lived a remarkable life, sharing many happy years with his wife Sara (who still practices psychoanalysis and psychiatry at age 89), his four children and 10 grandchildren.

While Dr. Tucker says “good genes and a bit of luck” can help to extend your life, he also follows a few simple lifestyle rules that boost his health and happiness.

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Note from AAHPO Member Meroujan Maljian, MD, a forensic psychiatrist working in the New Jersey prison system: “I see a lot of substance use disorders among the prison inmate population. I mostly agree with the following article [from Johns Hopkins University] that Cannabis products are substances of abuse which can often be harmful. They are potentially addictive and can lead to medical complications, drug interactions, and mental health problems. I also agree that more research and data are needed to understand how legalization of recreational Marijuana affects patterns of drug use and associated drug-related crime in the community. The article seems to suggest that depending on what that data and research shows that recreational Marijuana is something that people can decide whether or not to have as a society, but I disagree with that notion. As a physician who has seen the harmful effects of casual Cannabis use and how it is often a gateway drug leading to the use of more harmful drugs like Heroin and Cocaine, I personally can only support the use of medical Marijuana with medical supervision as a society for treating specific illnesses like terminal cancer where it was shown to help symptoms like pain and appetite.”

On July 1, Maryland joined 23 other states (including New Jersey, New York and Connecticut) permitting anyone 21 and older to buy and use cannabis for both recreational and medicinal purposes. But as more states make cannabis legal, what are policymakers and government agencies doing to ensure its safety? What does the latest research on cannabis indicate that can help the public make informed decisions?

For answers, The Hub recently sat down with Ryan Vandrey, an experimental psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, who works with an interdisciplinary team in the Cannabis Science Laboratory.

Q. As someone who spends day in and day out studying cannabis, what does the legalization mean to you?
A. People get harmed by drugs all the time, even prescription drugs, and cannabis is no exception. But if there wasn’t good reason to believe that some value would come from legalization, it wouldn’t have happened. On the benefits side, there’s been a clear demonstration that the long-lasting war on drugs has been largely ineffective and has marginalized subgroups of individuals. There’s also clear evidence that making cannabis illegal hasn’t stopped people from accessing it. This isn’t my area of expertise, but from a criminal justice perspective, it makes sense to try to establish quality control for this commodity and to pull manufacturing and revenue out of the hands of drug dealers and into the hands of responsible businesses.

But there’s always risk and some level of concern when you grant open access to the public of a substance that can produce intoxication and impairment. My biggest worry is with public education and the information about the risks and potential harms of using cannabis that might get lost in the excitement of legalization.

Q. What important research findings do you think are getting left out of the public conversation about cannabis?
A. [As a society,] we need an open dialogue and increased education about the risks and how to minimize the likelihood of harm for individual users. There just isn’t enough discussion currently. For example, research tells us that there are subgroups of people with certain health conditions who should not use products with high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive component that produces the “high” in cannabis. These include individuals with a personal or family history of psychosis, who can end up in an acute psychotic state that lasts hours or days. Likewise, individuals with heart conditions or even asymptomatic cardiovascular disease can end up having a heart attack or heart failure, despite exhibiting no previous signs of trouble.

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Congratulations to Vicki Shoghag Hovanessian for being named Cultural Advisor to the Embassy of Armenia. Shoghag, as her friends call her, has been a long-time supporter of AAHPO, one of many causes she has championed. She is the widow of the late Raffy Hovanessian, MD, a beloved AAHPO Board Member for whom the AAHPO, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Program was named.

“Shoghag is a tremendous force for good. She has helped many people directly and indirectly through the numerous charitable causes she and her family have supported. AAHPO congratulates Shoghag on receiving this honor which she so well deserves. We are fortunate to have her as part of our community,” said AAHPO President Lawrence V. Najarian, MD.

The article, below, about Mrs. Hovanessian and her well-deserved appointment was published in the July 9 edition of the Newsletter of the Armenian News Hour of New Jersey. To read the Armenian Mirror Spectator coverage, click here.

Kudos to AAHPO Board Member Kim Hekimian, PhD, and AAHPO colleague Sharon Chekijian, MD, for their participation in the 6IMCA Medical Conference session on Emergency Medicine and Disaster Preparedness and the Outlook of Health Care in Armenia.

Kudos to AAHPO Board member John Bilezikian, MD, for his participation as a Plenary Speaker at 6IMCA. Doctors participating in the 6th International Medical Congress of Armenia not only bear professional responsibility to Artsakh and Armenia, but also bear political responsibility.

In the framework of the 6th IMCA, through the US ambassador to Armenia, the American Armenian doctors urged the US government to put pressure on Azerbaijan.

The members of the delegation of doctors told NEWS.am, the information partner of the Congress, about the meeting held at the US Embassy.

Navigating the intricacies of allogeneic transplants is a specialty of Dr. Nelli Bejanyan (shown at left in photo at left) The program leader of Blood and Marrow Transplant and the head of the Leukemia/Myeloid Section of the Department of Blood and Marrow Transplant and Cellular Immunotherapy at Moffitt Cancer Center is renowned for her expertise in transplanting healthy donor (allogeneic) stem cells into patients with blood cancers such as acute leukemia.

It’s a skill and an expertise that isn’t available everywhere around the globe. But with the specialized BMT training program at Moffitt, Dr. Bejanyan hopes to change that. She wants to start with her home country of Armenia.

This year, Dr. Bejanyan invited hematologist Dr. Nerses Ghahramanyan (both shown in photo, top left) from Yeolyan Hematology Center in Yerevan, Armenia, to learn as much as he can about allogenic transplantation at Moffitt. The goal is to take that knowledge and experience back to Armenia, where adult patients have no access to curative allogeneic bone marrow transplants.

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AAHPO President Lawrence V. Najarian, MD, has written a letter to our members, colleagues, families and friends about AAHPO’s activities regarding the Artsakh Blockade. Here is a summary for your convenience:

• The blockade has created a heart-breaking humanitarian crisis that is being largely ignored by the rest of the world.
• AAHPO is committed to helping address the medical needs of 120,000 Armenians who live in Artsakh and are directly impacted by the blockade.
• AAHPO has joined with Armenian Medical International Committee (AMIC) to raise funds that will be used to purchase medical supplies desperately needed by Artsakh physicians.
• The first fund-raising effort was a telethon hosted by our colleagues in California on May 7. If you were not able to donate to that effort, you are urged to donate now.
• The program to purchase medical supplies is being conducted with the highest level of transparency and accountability.
• The blockade has prevented Artsakh physicians from traveling to Yerevan for essential continuing medical education (CME) funded for 13 years by the AAHPO, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Program.
• Our fearless director of this CME in Armenia, Dr. Hambardzum Simonyan, has developed online CME programs, which are being provided to Artsakh physicians at this time.

Click here to read the entire letter from Dr. Najarian.

By Stephan S. Nigohosian

Editor’s note: This article was published in the Armenian Mirror Spectator on February 4, 2023.

LEONIA, N.J. —Overpeck County Park is a world away from Artsakh, but that distance became inconsequential last October when upwards of 100 people participated in the Armenian American Health Professionals Organization (AAHPO) Fourth Annual 5K Run/Walk event.

This year’s activity (the date is yet to be determined), which will be held to raise desperately needed funds to support healthcare and medical services for the Armenian population of Artsakh and Armenia, will be even more significant in light of the humanitarian crisis caused by Azerbaijan’s unlawful blockade of the Lachin Corridor. Armenian

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Examples of this are the training of doctors in the rural areas of Artsakh in innovative approaches, methods, and technologies in medicine, as well as underwriting the cost of curating and sending medical equipment and medicine to the region.

“The continued growth of our 5K Run/Walk Event is a testament to the dedication and compassion of Armenian-Americans in NY, NJ and CT,” said AAHPO President Lawrence V. Najarian, MD. “The situation in Artsakh has been very difficult for quite some time now, but the most recent repercussions caused by the Azeri blockade has made our mission of providing assistance to our brethren in the region all the more critical.”

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Four AAHPO members were honored at the January 22 Winter Brunch for their leadership and service during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vice President Garbis Baydar, MD (far left) and President Lawrence V. Najarian, MD (far right) congratulate Board Member John P. Bilezikian, MD, Board Member Tsoline Kojaoghlanian, MD, and Member Mihran Seferian, MD. Board Member Kim Hekimian, PhD, also was honored but could not attend as she was traveling to Armenia. Watch for a full report on the Winter Brunch in our next newsletter.

From January 2022 through the end of December 2022, 18 Artsakh doctors representing various medical specialties participated in the AAHPO, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Program, according to the program’s Annual Report. Along with attending the month-long clinical training in Yerevan, the physicians participated in lectures held at the Republican Scientific Medical Library and had the opportunity to improve their computer literacy skills.

“The future for the AAHPO, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Program is bright,” asserted Hambardzum Simonyan, MD, the program director in Armenia. He added:

• The knowledge and skills the physician-trainees gained during lectures and computer classes will enable them keep up with modern medical trends.
• The AAHPO, Dr. Raffy Hovanessian Medical Education Program has been included in the 5-years strategy planning of the Artsakh Government as the primary source of continuing medical education training.
• So far, 46 Artsakh doctors are on the waiting list for 2023.

During 2022, the program collaborated or supported several additional initiatives, including establishing a diabetes education program for medical professionals, training of Artsakh specialists in geriatrics, offering a workshop for orthopedic surgeons in Gyumri, and sending rehabilitation specialists to an important conference (see photos below).

Read entire 2022 Report

Seven endocrinologists recently took part in a week-long training to improve diabetes education of patients.

Orthopedic surgeons from Artsakh participating in a practical workshop during the Orthopedic school in Gyumri.

Specialists from Stepanakert Rehabilitation Center attended an important conference.