• Strengthen the capacity of the EMS Training Center within the F-RCEM to provide training to health care professionals, including primary care providers.
• Improve the quality of care of the F-RCEM by implementing infection control standards, practices, and a surveillance system aimed at reducing nosocomial infections.
• Increase the knowledge and skills of primary healthcare professionals in the Kuva Rayon related to management of emergency/trauma patients through implementation of emergency medical protocols and training seminars.
• Improve the emergency first response system in the Ferghana Oblast, promoting donation of modern ambulances, their effective dispatch and use.
• Ensure full operation of the Poison Control Center at the RCEM in Tashkent, ensuring appropriate software and training of staff; initiate a Poison Control Center in Ferghana; and address sustainability of these centers so that patients experiencing intentional or unintentional poisoning receive appropriate diagnosis and treatment.

2000

• Partners celebrated the launching of the partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding at a ceremony held in Ferghana on June 8. Partners also officially opened an Emergency Medical Services Training Center at the Ferghana Regional Emergency Center that will be part of AIHA’s network of EMS Training Centers in the NIS and CEE. The US Ambassador to Uzbekistan, the Governor of Ferghana Oblast, the Deputy Minister of Health and other dignitaries participated in both events.
• The partnership had their first exchange to the US in August, with a delegation that included the Deputy Minister of Health of Uzbekistan. The NIS partners were introduced to the resources and capabilities of the US partner institutions, and they received an orientation to the full range of emergency care services provided in Atlanta--from pre-hospital to primary care to surgical intensive care. A highlight of the visit was a meeting hosted by the Governor and Lieutenant Governor of Georgia.
• US and NIS partners assisted Carelift International in conducting an assessment of equipment needs at the Ferghana affiliate of the Republican Center for Emergency Medicine. Carelift subsequently delivered donated equipment and supplies to the center consistent with the needs expressed in the assessment.

• On May 11, the Ferghana/Tashkent and Atlanta partners celebrated the arrival of three donated ambulances from Atlanta, two of which were for Ferghana and one for Tashkent. The ceremonies drew the US Ambassador and the Minister of Health, along with AIHA’s Executive Director, USAID representatives and numerous health professionals from both Uzbek cities. US partners provided training to ambulance drivers and to the medical teams assigned to the ambulances.
• The partners established a dedicated Emergency Department at the Emergency Medicine Center.
• US partners in Atlanta donated three additional ambulances to their Ferghana partners; the ambulances arrived in December.

• During a visit to the US, NIS partners associated from Ferghana observed the use of protocols for victim assistance at the Fulton County Emergency Communications Center. Concepts related to zoning and dispatch and quality monitoring were also presented.
• Staff of the Learning Resource Center at the Republican Center for the Emergency Medicine in Tashkent helped create new guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous pneumothorax.

• Partners from Ferghana traveled to Chisinau, Moldova where they were exposed to systems for emergency admissions and ambulance dispatch.
• The Ferghana Emergency Medical Services Training Center (EMSTC) participated in a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) disaster preparedness drill held April 28-30. The drill was designed to train first responders and to promote effective triage.

Emergency Medical Services

• Partners opened an EMS Training Center at the Ferghana affiliate of the National Republican Center for Emergency Medicine (F-RCEM) in June 2000 with six trained instructors. Thousands of primary care physicians, nurses, feldshers, and ambulance personnel, including health professionals from other parts of the Ferghana Valley, have benefited from EMS training.
• Sixty surgeons were trained in initial management of thoracic trauma; and nurses were trained in prevention of infections during intravenous therapy.
• An Emergency Department was established at the F-RCEM and improved practices for receiving and stabilizing patients were instituted. Using equipment donated by Carelift, a cardio-resuscitation unit with 6 beds was established; it is equipped with cardiac monitors, a defibrillator, and specialized beds. After the new unit was established, the percentage of effectively treated cases of acute myocardial infarction was increased from 75% in 2000 to 90% in 2002.
• US partners donated five fully-equipped ambulances to partners in Ferghana; and one ambulance was provided to the National Center for Emergency Medicine in Tashkent. The ambulances sent to Ferghana enabled the transport of severe patients from the remote mountain areas such as Shahimardan, Soh and Besh-Arik.
• The Ferghana RCEM reported a significant drop in pre-hospital mortality as a result of increased staff training, upgraded equipment, and implementation of new procedures.

Infection Control

• The F-RCEM adopted a series of infection control measures after staff members received training at the Almaty Infection Control Training Center. As a result, the Ferghana facility reported a decrease in the number of post-surgery complications from 25 in 2000 to 9 in 2002. Among cases of infections reported in 2002, most had the infections prior to admission. The F-RCEM also experienced a complete reduction of new incidence of tuberculosis and Hepatitis B cases among the Center’s staff.

Health Promotion

• Partners focused on injury prevention, conducting an assessment of motor vehicle accidents (a major cause of morbidity and mortality in Ferghana), recommending appropriate interventions as well as the need for a baseline survey, and identifying community institutions for involvement in future public education and prevention efforts. As a result of the partnership’s efforts, the F-RCEM established a monitoring and analysis mechanism for trauma cases and initiated work with local and national governmental agencies to identify ways to reduce trauma from accidents occurring on the roador at home, as well as those related to substance abuse.
• Poison Control Centers were established at the Tashkent RCEM and in Ferghana; software to support activities of these centers was purchased through the partnership.