The mission of "Physicians With Heart" - a partnership between the American Academy of Family Physicians, its Foundation, and Heart to Heart International - is to mobilize resources to improve health, provide medical education and to foster the development of Family Practice worldwide. Physicians With Heart celebrated its 10th anniversary airlift to a former Soviet republic with a humanitarian airlift to Uzbekistan from October 24 to November 3, 2002.

Kickoff at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland, USA

Nearly 50 volunteer airlift delegation members, including many family physicians, converged on Hangar 3 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland Oct. 24 for the celebration of the 10th anniversary airlift, which benefits Uzbekistan. US State Department Deputy Secretary Richard Armitage keynoted the celebration as the Physicians With Heart 10th anniversary airlift kicked off.

US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage speaks at the celebration of Physicians With Heart's 10th anniversary airlift Oct. 24 at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland. Behind him are, from left, Thomas Adams, acting coordinator of U.S. assistance to Europe and Eurasia; Gary Morsch, M.D., founder and president of Heart to Heart International; Kenneth Evans, M.D., president of the AAFP Foundation; AAFP Past President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D.; Jerry Oberndorfer, director of humanitarian programs in the Department of State; and Uzbekistan Ambassador Shivkat Khamrakulov.

Armitage noted, "This exact day marks the 10th anniversary of the signing of the Freedom Support Act into law. That was the legislation that provided much of the initial framework as well as the funding for U.S. relations with Uzbekistan and all of the other new republics after the fall of the Soviet Union."

After Armitage spoke, the ambassador of Uzbekistan, His Excellency Shivkat Khamrakulov, expressed his nation's gratitude for Physicians With Heart, which over the years has delivered more than $60 million of aid to former Soviet republics and Vietnam. The 10th anniversary airlift is the second one to benefit Uzbekistan. He thanked Physicians With Heart's leaders on the stage with him - AAFP Foundation President Kenneth Evans, M.D., of Stillwater, Okla.; and family physician Gary Morsch, M.D., of Olathe, Kan., president and founder of Heart to Heart International; and AAFP Past President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wisconsin. Roberts spoke of the airlift's educational component - presentations by family doctors in the delegation that are designed to help Uzbek physicians learn more about family medicine. "As the Uzbek government builds a new health system, they're looking to family medicine to help them do that," he noted.

Uzbekistan's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Safiev answers reporters' questions during the plane-side press conference in Tashkent.

Delegation Accompanies Donations on C-5 Galaxy to Uzbekistan

In another big "first" for Physicians With Heart, most delegation members flew overseas with the donated pharmaceutical and other medical supplies worth nearly $10 million aboard a U.S. Air Force C-5 Galaxy. After midair refueling over Scotland, the C-5 touched down in Tashkent. On the tarmac, a ribbon-cutting ceremony marked the project's official start in Uzbekistan.

The donated medicines and medical supplies were distributed to all 13 regions (called oblasts) of Uzbekistan, at the request of the Uzbek Ministry of Health. The airlift delegation split into four project teams, then the teams traveled to destinations throughout the country Oct. 27 - Nov. 1 to document arrival of donated products, provide educational sessions and learn more about the Uzbek health care system. Some delegation members brought gifts and supplies to four children's institutions in the country as part of the airlift's "children's project."

"The real power of Physicians With Heart isn't the donated pills or products," says Gary Morsch, M.D., family physician founder and President of Heart to Heart International. "It's really the power of presence. I would say that this delegation is the largest physician group ever to come to this country at one time."

Children at the Kibry Baby Orphanage in Tashkent sing, dance and recite poetry for delegation members. Many of the children have disabilities. The airlift's "children's project" brought much-needed supplies to the Kibry orphanage and three children's institutions in Uzbekistan.
		Tengis Riznis, M.D., recipient of the Physicians With Heart Resident Scholarship, prepares to enter an operating room during a tour of the hospital in Fergana. Riznis, originally from the former Soviet republic of Georgia, is a second-year resident at Lutheran Medical Center in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Family Doctors Teach Uzbek Doctors Obstetrical Emergency Care

In another "first" family doctors taught the AAFP's Advanced Life Support in Obstetrics (ALSO) program, which could help standardize care of obstetric emergencies throughout Uzbekistan. While ALSO has been presented in 18 countries, it never before has been part of a Physicians With Heart airlift project.

An Uzbek physician is tested on her mastery of ALSO techniques by an Uzbek ALSO instructor during the final day of the second provider course.			Dr. Lyudmila Evdokimova tells how she used ALSO techniques during a shoulder dystocia delivery right after her ALSO training.

A cadre of top OB-Gyns from throughout Uzbekistan completed the ALSO Provider Course presented by a North American faculty, and then the ALSO Instructor Course, where they learned to teach the ALSO curriculum to other Uzbek doctors. Then the Uzbek doctors tried their wings by presenting the ALSO Provider Course to other Uzbek physicians, under the guidance of the American faculty. By the Friday graduation for that provider course, many of the Uzbek physicians had really "caught the ALSO bug," said Chip Taylor, M.D., a family physician from Fairfax, Va., who headed the ALSO faculty in Uzbekistan. One Uzbek physician reported using ALSO techniques to help in a shoulder dystocia delivery right after her ALSO training.

Wearing gifts from their Uzbek hosts, ALSO faculty members from the United States and Canada and airlift leaders pause for a photograph after the final ALSO graduation ceremony. From left are Chip Taylor, M.D., of Fairfax, Va., head of the ALSO faculty; Duncan Etches, M.D., of Vancouver, Canada; AAFP Foundation President Kenneth Evans, M.D., of Stillwater, Okla.; Susan Brunsell, M.D., of Silver Spring, Md.; AAFP Past President Richard Roberts, M.D., J.D., of Madison, Wis.; Robert Persons, M.D., of Valdosta, Ga.; Steve Eisinger, M.D., of Rochester, N.Y.; Patrick Connerly, M.D., of New Haven, Ind.; Greg Raglow, M.D., of Phoenix, Ariz.; and Gary Morsch, M.D., of Olathe, Kan., president and founder of Heart to Heart International.

"If the Uzbek Ministry of Health develops a plan for disseminating ALSO training and secures grant funds to carry it out, many more Uzbek physicians and their patients may benefit. The possibilities extend beyond Uzbekistan", Taylor added. "The Russian-translated syllabus is transplantable. It would be great if we could bring additional American faculty to partner with ALSO-trained Uzbek physicians and spread ALSO training to other former Soviet republics."

Paula Binder
AAFP Editor
Pbinder@aafp.org