A group of Italian Rotary clubs has installed a WHIS-RAD x-ray system in Armenia. The installation is the second in an ongoing campaign by Rotary clubs around the world to place basic x-ray technology in developing countries.
The installation was completed on July 17 at Gulkekyan Hospital in Gumry. The 100-bed hospital was selected in September 2002 after a group of six Italian Rotary clubs joined together to raise funds for the installation. Prior to the installation, the facility relied on Soviet-era x-ray equipment that was often not functional, according to Dr. Giacomo Bertacchi, a radiologist at Humanitas Gavazzeni hospital in Bergamo, who assisted in the effort.
The effort was spearheaded by the Rotary Club Bergamo Citta Alta, with the participation of five other clubs in Bergamo and the surrounding area, Bertacchi said. The group received matching donations from the Rotary Foundation in Evanston, IL, and members of the Armenian community in Bergamo.
Rotary clubs in developed nations have been raising funds to purchase WHIS-RAD x-ray systems and install them in developing nations, many of which lack access to basic radiographic technology. The first such WHIS-RAD unit was installed at a hospital in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe in March.
By AuntMinnie.com staff writersJuly 25, 2003
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Zimbabwe hospital installs WHIS-RAD unit, June 16, 2003
Rotarians help provide x-ray system in Zimbabwe, December 2, 2002
Rotary awards grant for Africa x-ray system, April 17, 2002
Rotarians assess need for WHIS-RAD imaging system in Zimbabwe, April 2, 2002
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