Christina Nersesian

This past summer, the Armenian International Medical (AIM) Fund, a nonprofit organization specializing in implementing integral health care programs in Armenia, successfully completed a total of 10 cochlear implant surgeries during their 14th consecutive medical mission abroad, making it the most out of any trip to date.

Spearheaded by the dauntless Salpy Akaragian, RN-BC, MF and Founder and President of the AIM Fund, Co-Founder of the Cochlear Implant Project and Director of International and Nurse Credentialing at UCLA Health, AIM Fund has completed over 85 surgeries since the organization began in 2003.

With the continued support from Dr. Akira Ishiyama, Professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, this year a  group of 10 children and youths from villages and towns throughout Armenia received cochlear implants, with one individual undergoing ear surgery, at the Erebuni Medical Center(MC) located just outside Yerevan. This facility is a specialized center and the only place for cochlear implant surgeries in Armenia, coming in second after Russia.

As Vice President of the AIM Fund and Co-Founder of the Cochlear Implant Project, Dr. Ishiyama has donated his time and volunteered his professional services to the cause since its inception alongside Akaragian and their entire United States team. Other foundation members and supporters also came to support and manage this year’s efforts, including Kristine Oganyan RN; Nicole Baghdasaryan; Dr. Lucy Huckabay RN, PhD; Betty Nersesian RN and Len Nersesian among others. Since the United States team works entirely as volunteers, every penny collected and donated to the foundation was used for the purchase of cochlear implants with the goal to give even one more child the gift of hearing and this year’s efforts were wholly fulfilled. Since the beginning, a staggering number of children born with impaired hearing in Armenia have come through the Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) Department at the ErebuniMCin Yerevan and have left with the ability to listen and hear their world.

With these truly vital donations and by the generosity of Armenians and non-Armenians throughout the United States, AIM Fund continues to operate in its 12th year as an entirely nonprofit group. During this trip, they funded a majority of the implants for children from the ages of 2- to 5 who were born hard of hearing and two adults who had lost their hearing within the past 12 months. These families came from different regions throughout Armenia, arriving from remote villages as far as Etchmiadzin and Tavoush, nearly 100 miles away from the Erebuni MC. The surgeons, physicians and nursing staff, both from ErebuniMC and those who traveled as a part of the mission staff, worked tirelessly throughout the process, yielding entirely successful surgeries and implants to their patients. One month after the week of their surgeries, the “switch on” took place and these implant recipients joined the hearing world, receiving an influx of sound and auditory delights.

“This mission was very special because we did not leave any child behind,” says Akaragian. “Every child on the waiting list was implanted and we already have four children on the new list for the next mission.”

The AIM Fund members began this year’s mission with the surgeries and had the chance to witness a telling testament to the work they’ve continually done. During their time in Armenia, one adult recipient from four years ago was married to a survivor from the Gyumri earthquake of 1988. Nearly the entire team had the privilege to attend their wedding, showcasing the impacts from the AIM Fund efforts as evident within the whole life of each patient, not just with their ability to hear.

Celebrating the persistent success and tenacious efforts of the AIM Fund trailblazers, the Republic of Armenia’s Minister of the Diaspora Hranoush Hakobyan bestowed the Boghos Noubar Medal to Akaragian and the Gold Medal of the Diaspora Ministry Dr. Ishiyama, who received the.

In addition to the surgeries, time was also spent with previously implanted patients at the Mutual Support Center, a nonprofit group run by its president and speech therapist, Inessa Harutyunyan, who holds a PhD in Pedagogical Sciences and is a lecturer at the Armenian State Pedagogical University in the Abovyan Department of Special Pedagogy and Psychology. She collected her students and their families to extend their thanks to Akaragian and Dr. Ishiyama, showcasing all they’ve learned and how much they’ve grown since their surgeries.  .

AIM Fund plans on perpetuating the gift of hearing to children in the future and hopes to continue receiving support from individual donors and Armenian communities in the diaspora for this noble cause.  Throughout the history of this project, the team has sustained a 100 percent success rate from the surgeries thanks to the efforts of the diaspora, allowing their goals and visions to transform into realities.

Top photo - The Erebuni Medical Center surgeons, physicians and nurses with the AIM Fund United States Team at the Erebuni Medical Center