Pictures from Moldova 2006
Jeff Altwies, AAFP staff volunteer visiting Moldova, sent these pictures as the airlift effort unfolded:
October 20: Physicians With Heart delegates arrive at the airport in Chisinau, Moldova. The project is providing $3 million worth of medical aid to Moldova, a former Soviet state that is home to 4.5 million people.
October 20: Delegates take time to talk and get acquainted following their first dinner in Moldova. About 40 delegates have arrived in Moldova for the Physicians With Heart project. More than half of the volunteers are physicians.
October 21: Dan Ostergaard, MD, AAFP vice president of international and interprofessional activities, speaks to the family physician team during a Physicians With Heart planning meeting in Chisinau, Moldova. The physician volunteers will be presenting several educational symposia for Moldovan health care providers during the next week.
October 21: Among the speakers at a press conference in Chisinau to discuss details of the Physicians With Heart project were Mary Frank, MD, past AAFP president; Valerian Cristea, vice prime minister of Moldova; and Michael Kirby, U.S. Ambassador to Moldova.
October 21: Physicians With Heart delegates were treated to a brief tour of Chisinau following the press conference, including a stop at the Holy Gates arch. In the background, across the street from the arch, is the Government Building where the Moldovan cabinet meets.
October 22: Before participating in more planning meetings, the Physicians With Heart delegation traveled by bus to the Orheiul Vechi Monastery complex, which was carved into a limestone cliff by Russian Orthodox monks in the 13th century. In addition to the underground monastery, the complex includes an above-ground Orthodox church and an underground chapel that is still used for religious services by Moldovans from nearby villages.
October 22: The Physicians With Heart delegation gathers for a group photo after lunch in a Chisinau restaurant.
October 22: A banquet was held in Chisinau to recognize the contributions and efforts of a number of organizations, government agencies, and individuals who were involved in this year's Physicians With Heart project to Moldova. Among those attending were, from left to right, Daniel Ostergaard, MD, AAFP vice president of international and interprofessional activities; Barbi Moore, vice president of international programs for Heart to Heart International; Mary Frank, MD, past AAFP president; Ion Ababii, minister of health for Moldova; Sandy Panther, AAFP vice president of corporate development and executive director of the AAFP Foundation; and Jerry Rogers, MD, president of the AAFP Foundation.
October 23: The Physicians With Heart delegation temporarily divided into three teams to work on various aspects of the project in Moldova. One team traveled south to the city of Cahul to visit recipient hospitals and conduct a family medicine education symposium. During a tour at the Leova District Hospital, Mary Jo Welker, MD, (center) and Timothy Komoto, MD, (right) were among other family physicians that watched a well-baby checkup.
October 23: Members of the South Team were greeted at the outskirts of the Cahul District by a welcoming committee organized by local health officials. The Physicians With Heart volunteers were treated to a roadside ceremony that included a traditional offering of bread and salt to honored guests.
October 23: Barbi Moore of Heart to Heart International and local physicians review the inventory of donated medical supplies and pharmaceuticals that were provided to the Cahul District Hospital by the Physicians With Heart project.
October 24: Mark Vaisman, MD, and Sofia Vaisman, MD, lead a discussion about the pharmaceuticals that were provided by the Physicians With Heart project during a meeting with physicians in Cahul. The Vaismans were born in Moldova and went to medical school there before emigrating to the United States. They now live in Encino, California.
October 24: Richard Bruehlman, MD, a family physician from Allison Park, Pennsylvania, speaks during a medical education symposium in Cahul about the history of family medicine in the United States.
October 24: Horse-drawn wagons are a common way to transport agricultural products--and sometimes people--in rural areas of Moldova.
October 25: Moldovans wait in a darkened corridor to see a doctor at City #1 Diagnostic Clinic in Chisinau. In Moldovan hospitals like this one, most of the lights are routinely turned off to save on the cost of electricity.
October 25: Physicians With Heart leaders meet with the Moldovan Minister of Health, Dr. Ion Ababii.
October 25: The Physicians With Heart delegation was treated to a tour of one of the most impressive sites in Moldova -- the Milestii Mici Winery, a huge underground complex listed in the Guinness Book of World Records.
October 26: Dr. Nadeja Codreanu, a Moldovan physician, teaches advanced life support in obstetrics during an ALSO course in Chisinau that was part of the Physicians With Heart project.
October 26: Tom Weida, MD, Speaker of the AAFP Congress of Delegates, addresses Moldovan family physicians during the Second Congress of the Moldova Family Medicine Association, which coincided with the Physicians With Heart project. Family physicians with the Physicians With Heart delegation presented a number of educational sessions for their Moldovan colleagues during the conference.
October 27: The Physicians With Heart delegation visits a classroom at Casa de Copii, an orphanage in Cupcui. During their visit, members of the delegation provided vitamins, treat sacks, and other donations for the children.
October 27: Laurie Halfert takes Polaroid photos to give to the children at Casa de Copii.
October 27: Residents and staff of Stella's House, a halfway home for young adults who are leaving the Moldovan orphanage system, say goodbye after a visit from the Physicians With Heart delegation. The Physicians With Heart project provided funds to purchase appliances and furniture for the recently constructed house.
October 27: During their final night in Moldova, Physicians With Heart delegates toast the successful completion of their efforts.
Moldova 2006
Pictures from Moldova 2006
Physicians With Heart 2006 Moldova itinerary (*PDF file)
Download the delegation application form. (*PDF file)
2006 Children's Project to Moldova (*PDF file)
(*PDF file. About PDFs)
