The elder people medical needs are immense and special care and medications are to be provided and prescribed by geriatricians (aged care specialists), which lack in Armenia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since 2002 “Armenian Caritas” has been providing a care to the older people promoting their well-being. To increase the social responsibility of local authorities and society and to promote specialized care, an attempt has been…

A Benevolent Training by Victoria Kaprielian, MD

The elder people medical needs are immense and special care and medications are to be provided and prescribed by geriatricians (aged care specialists), which lack in Armenia after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Since 2002 “Armenian Caritas” has been providing a care to the older people promoting their well-being. To increase the social responsibility of local authorities and society and to promote specialized care, an attempt has been made to reintroduce geriatrics in modern Armenia. Per “Armenian Caritas” request the American Fund for Armenian Relief referred “AC” to Victoria Kaprielian, MD, FAAFP Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Medical Education Campbell University Jerry M. Wallace School of Osteopathic Medicine and her team. The well-known specialists performed a free-of-charge 3-day training in the AC main office for the AC nurses and for the Armenian care institutions and respective NGOs. The training included such topics as confusion, delirium, dementia, their evaluation tools for assessment of and appropriate management strategies for the treatment, palliative strategies for patients with incurable condition, caregiver stress and factors influencing caregiver well-being, strategies and resources to assist, symptom management at end of life, assessment and management of hypertension in the elderly, high-risk medications and medication interactions to avoid in elderly patients and the like.

The training is a real asset in setting a new phase in geriatrics in Armenia.