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"U.S. Rotarians Join Effort to
Reduce Infant Mortality in Russia"
Atlanta -- When the economy of a country is in turmoil, problems manifest themselves in a variety of ways - many of them related to health care. In Russia, health officials say a collapsing health care system has created an alarming increase in the rate of infant mortality.
Joining forces with a private initiative called the Future of Russia Foundation (FORF), the Rotary Club of Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A., has embarked on a comprehensive effort to improve health care for mothers and infants in Russia.
"Today, more than 50 percent of Russian babies are born unhealthy, and infant mortality is unacceptably high," said Rotarian Dr. A.W. Brann Jr., an Emory University School of Medicine professor of pediatrics and FORF's medical director. "The biggest need right now is to help a woman have and carry to term a pregnancy she wants to have."
Called the Balashikha Project, the effort is composed of two ambitious components: bringing medical education and training to Russian health care professionals, as well as modernizing and remodeling the obsolete Moscow Balashikha Region Perinatal Center.
Working with the Russian health ministry, the project's primary goal is to help reduce the number of unhealthy newborns by half in five years.
Upon his return, the club donated funds to the project to help buy medical equipment for the perinatal center. The Atlanta Rotarians partnered with the Rotary Club of Moscow-Rossica, Russia, to assist in procuring and delivering the medical equipment to the maternity center.
The club also sponsored the visits of two teams of Russian doctors to Atlanta to observe patient care and learn more about the latest technology used to treat premature babies and at-risk pregnancies. The Russian doctors met with officials of the Emory University schools of medicine, nursing, law, and public health and visited the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the near future, a team of seven U.S. health care professionals from Atlanta will visit Moscow. "This will begin a new phase of the project, involving three sets of reciprocal visits per year with continuous exchange of medical data for total quality management and improvement," said Brann.
The Balashikha Project was the brainchild of Tom Murray, a lawyer in Sandusky, Ohio, who has personally financed much of the effort. "It's critical that this project not just be about tossing money. This is far more ambitious. We want it to result in a well-run and equipped facility."
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