• Establish a neonatal resuscitation center to train health professionals at Mir Kasimov Republican Clinical Hospital to improve care for IDPs and refugees.
• Evaluate prenatal, obstetric and perinatal services to establish contemporary, cost-effective prenatal, obstetric, and perinatal care services at the Mir Kasimov Republican Clinical Hospital.
• Assess current community health strategies to improve public education and preventive health services delivery, including prenatal care, well-woman care, disease prevention, chronic disease management and additional areas based on a community needs assessment.
• Establish access to communication, data and health resources via print, media and Internet materials and investigate the possibility of acquiring resources to create, duplicate and distribute health education materials for IDPs and refugees and to enable partnership contact.
• Provide training and education to improve nursing skills and services in Azerbaijan.
• Shift patient-oriented activities to rayon hospitals serving refugees and internally displaced persons (IDP's) camps in the catchment area of Mir Kasimov Hospital. Identify targeted camps outside Baku to implement and pilot test activities described in the workplan.
  

2000

• The partnership launched its Neonatal Resuscitation Training Center (NRTC) with a workshop for physicians and nurses at Mir Kasimov Republican Hospital conducted by trainers from Georgian and Ukrainian NRTCs. Upon completion of the course, six individuals were identified, trained and certified as instructors in neonatal resuscitation. These instructors will continue to conduct outreach courses at the camp medical station in order to teach neonatal resuscitation skills to the local medical workers.

• Together with the head physician, neonatal and ob/gyn nurses and physicians from Mir Kasimov Hospital trained in Houston and the US partners visited Galagair IDP camp in Sabirabad Rayon in March.
• On May 16-18 Mir Kasimov Hospital sponsored a three-day Neonatal Resuscitation Training for the OB/GYNs and neonatologists who provide services to IDPs and refugees residing in the field camps. Two Ukrainian neonatal resuscitation trainers assisted the Azeri instructors with the training.
• In August, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the representatives of Baylor College of Medicine, Mir Kasimov Republican Hospital, Sabirabad Rayon Central Hospital, and three IDP/refugee camps to improve medical services to internally displaced persons (IDP's) and refugees living in the Sabirabad region. The partners also organized a round table discussion with international and local NGOs working in Sabirabad Rayon to obtain information on existing projects targeting the Sabirabad Rayon and to identify areas in which the partnership could provide expertise.
• The Neonatal Resuscitation Training Center conducted a conference on November 25th for hospital physicians entitled Intracranial Hemorrhages in Neonates. This topic was selected because intracranial hemorrhage constitutes the leading cause of neonatal mortality in the region. The presenters used hospital-based case studies to illustrate their points.

• Two physicians attended the 8th Biennial Symposium on Minorities, the Medically Underserved and Cancer in Washington, DC in early February. Following the conference, they received training in Houston and observed women's health services at the following facilities: the Women's Wellness Center, the Teen Pregnancy Clinic, the Women's Crisis Center, and Magnolia Multi-service Center.
• The second round table meeting between Houston-Baku, Sabirabad Rayon Hospital partners, and international NGOs (International Medical Corp and International Federation Red Crescent/Cross) working in Sabirabad Rayon took place on March 15. The purpose of the meeting was to improve coordination of health care related activities in Sabirabad Rayon.
• The partners opened a Women's Wellness Center (WWC) at the Republican Clinical Hospital in September. The WWC provides services including prevention and screening in reproductive health and health education and referral services.

• In February, a local network system was installed at the Republican Clinical Hospital, which consists of two LRC computers, one NRTC computer, and one WWC computer. All four computers which are part of the network have access to the internet. The local network was set up based on the request of hospital employees to have better access to the internet and in turn to update and receive new medical information.
• A Training Manual on Neonatal Resuscitation by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Heart Association was translated into Azeri. The Manual was reproduced and used in NR trainings at the hospital as well as in rural regions.
• As part of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program, the Mir Kasimov Hospital Neonatal Resuscitation Training Center (NRTC) provided a series of outreach training sessions for healthcare providers in rural areas with a high density of IDPs and refugees. Three NRP instructors from the Mir Kasimov NRTC conducted a three-day training session in each of the following eight districts - Barda, Imishli, Bilasuvar, Agjabadi, Saatli, Nakhchivan, Agsu, and Shamaha. The model NRP program combined training in neonatal resuscitation techniques, new policy changes and new clinical protocols. A total of 224 physicians, midwives, and nurses attended these training sessions.
• The partners conducted a patient satisfaction survey of WWC clients in April and May. Results showed that the center received an overall score of 5.9 out of 7. Patients rated questions related to professionalism and friendliness of the staff at 6.0 and higher. The patients were especially satisfied with the professionalism of the physicians (6.4) and explanations of the patients' diagnosis, treatment and care (6.2). Patients were least satisfied by the cost of services (5.3) and the waiting time (5.4). In addition, patients recommended helpful suggestions for improvement of services and comments on educational materials, classes, and the effectiveness of some services.
• A donation of eye equipment from Carelift International was delivered to the Mir Kasimov Hospital on June 17. Carelift International conducted training in the use of the donated optical equipment, and the Houston partners provided learning materials and equipment manuals translated into Russian prior to the training sessions.
• Prescription glasses provided by Carelift International were delivered to the Sabirabad partners for distribution among patients from the refugee camps. Distribution was conducted by the ophthalmologist from the Sabirabad Central Rayon Hospital together with the camp physicians.
• The Mir Kasimov Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine applied for and were awarded an Emergency Preparedness grant from the Sister Cities International Association.

• The partnership held a one-day dissemination meeting to showcase the partnership's accomplishments in the areas of women's health, neonatal resuscitation, emergency preparedness, and nursing leadership. Over 60 people attended the conference, including key Ministry of Health officials, representatives from AIHA, USAID, and other NGOs and international donors.

Clinical Organization and Capacity Building

• The partnership provided training to staff at the Republican Clinical Hospital and the Sabirabad Rayon Hospital in the areas of nursing, neonatal care, obstetrics and the provision of community health among IDPs and refugees.
• Lab staff from Mir Kasimov also learned techniques for receiving and delivering blood samples to labs, sample preparation, testing, and storage, and the use of manual microscopes.
• Two nurses from RCH - members of the AIHA established Nursing Association - were accepted into the American Organization of Nurse Executives (AONE).

Maternal and Child Health

• The partners established a Neonatal Training Center that provided a three-day neonatal resuscitation training course to the OB/GYN physicians, nurses and midwives from Mir Kasimov and Rayon hospitals serving IDP and refugee camps. Center faculty were trained in Georgia, Ukraine and Houston. As a result of the increased focus on neonatal care, the rates of early neonatal deaths at the Republican Hospital steadily decreased from .8% in 1999 to .3% in 2002.
• Partners disseminated knowledge gained from experiences in the US by conducting a neonatology conference in Baku. The conference focused upon general management approaches for the care of premature newborns, infants born from complicated pregnancies and newborns with birth traumas resulting from various types of maternal illness.
• The partners implemented changes in obstetrics/gynecology care for IDPs/refugees, including the administration of epidural anesthesia during labor; Rh immunization; blood sugar testing for all patients at risk for gestational diabetes; and early hospital discharge after normal deliveries.
• The partners opened a Women's Wellness Center (WWC) at the Republican Clinical Hospital in September 2002. The WWC provides services including prevention and screening in reproductive health and health education and referral services. In the first six months of operation, the WWC treated over 2000 patients, provided over 560 Pap smears, 600 colposcopies, and almost 500 ultrasounds.

Community/IDP Outreach

• The partners have provided education about breast cancer detection, self-breast exams, and the importance of cervical cancer screening to over 1500 women at the Republican Hospital and in three refugee camps.
• Brochures were created in the Azeri language and distributed by the Azeri partners. Topics included breastfeeding, healthy children, children's nutrition, and pain management for chronic diseases.
• The partners conducted assessments at refugee camps in the Sabirabad Rayon, and provided screenings, treatment and referrals for residents of the camps. They subsequently established routine telephone communications between three IDP/refugee camps, Sabirabad Rayon Hospital, and Mir Kasimov Hospital and implemented a systematic approach to the patient referral and follow-up processes. Ongoing communication was also established between Mir Kasimov Hospital and several international organizations providing humanitarian assistance to IDPs and refugees.