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Ganja, Azerbaijan / Livermore, California

2004-Present


Focus:  Community Health, Primary Care



The Partners

US Partner: ValleyCare Health System is a non-profit, locally controlled, private health system committed to providing high-quality health care services that are both convenient and readily accessible to the communities of California’s Tri-Valley area. ValleyCare employs a staff of more than 250 medical professionals and offers a wide array of inpatient and outpatient services at multiple locations. The Alameda County Public Health Department (ACPHD) is a local governmental entity of the state of California. ACPHD works in partnership with its community to ensure the optimal health and well-being of all people through a dynamic and responsive process respecting the diversity of its community.

NIS Partner: The Ganja City Health Administration serves Ganja, the second largest city in Azerbaijan and a city with a long industrial heritage dating back to Soviet times. Some 330,000 people—including 40,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees—reside in Ganja’s two primary districts, Kapaz and Nizami. The surrounding rural area is home to an estimated population of 1.5 million.


Partnership Objectives

The overall goal of the Ganja/Livermore Partnership is to improve the quality, access to and cost-effectiveness of primary healthcare to the citizens of Ganja, Azerbaijan. Specific objectives include:

  • Increase capacity to deliver quality primary care services by developing a model primary care clinic
  • Improve clinical skills of doctors and nurses in primary care in Polyclinic #6 through development of a regional professional training center
  • Improve the quality of care provided to mothers and infants in the maternity house by November 2005
  • Promote healthy lifestyles in the local community through the development of a Community Based Prevention Program (CBPP) at Polyclinic #6.


Key Events

  • The partners signed a Memorandum of Understanding on May 20, 2004 to celebrate the inception of the partnership.
  • The LRC was opened on October 22, 2004.
  • With the assistance of the US partners, the residents of Ganja formally established the Ganja/Livermore Community Health Advisory Board (CAB) in March 2005. The board will provide community input on health issues affecting the residents served by Polyclinic No.6. The board consists of community members, area physicians, nurses, directors of the polyclinic, local government health officials and the Learning Resource Center coordinator. Each of the board members has undergone 24 hours of training on the roles and responsibilities of an advisory board.
  • In March 2005, two partners from the graduated Baku/Portland partnership conducted a five-day orientation workshop on family medicine for Ganja primary care providers. During the workshop, the partners identified priority areas of family medicine to be implemented by the PHC partnership in Ganja. The partners also defined a process, implementation plan and outcomes for introducing family medicine.


Participating Institutions



Contact Information for Ganja, Azerbaijan / Livermore, California

NIS/CEE Partner

Information Coordinator
Ahmadova, Lala
Ganja Polyclinic No 6
8 Mamed Khalafov Str.
Baku, Azerbaijan 374700
Email:  lrcganja@azeurotel.com

US Partner

US Partnership Coordinator
Mertes, David
President
Chairperson, Board of Directors
ValleyCare Health System
5555 West Las Positas Blvd.
Pleaston, CA, United States 94588
Web Page:  http://www.valleycare.com
Email:  dmertes@pacbell.net
Phone 1:  (1-925) 455-8409
Fax:  (1-925) 447-1832



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Updated on July 25, 2007