COLLABORATION BETWEEN ZAIDI ABID FOUNDATION AND KOOHI GOTH HOSPITAL

ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY CELEBRATES PAKISTAN DAY

SOCIAL JUSTICE - HIGHLIGHT OF APPNA SUMMER CONVENTION

Pakistan American Association of St. Louis (PAAS) organized an event to celebrate Pakistan Day on August 9th 2014 at Marriott West Hotel.  More than 500 participants attended the event.  Event started with refreshments and folks visited the cultural booths where all provinces of Pakistan were represented. National Health Forum sponsored medical Presentation and Preventative Medical program; Inc. Talk was given by Dr. Tariq Alam on compounding pain medications. Fashion show and Quiz program with tableau was also part of the evening. Chris Koster, Attorney General State of Missouri, gave keynote speech. Dinner and entertainment by legendary singer Tahira Syed, was enjoyed and well received by participants.

After the murder of Dr. Qamar Mehdi, APPNA has taken an unprecedented step towards the issue of physician killing in Pakistan. Dr. Asif Rehman addressed the issue during his speech in main APPNA banquet condemning this senseless killing. He established an Adhoc Committee for Social Justice chaired by Dr. Muslim Jami to formulate the protest. Dr. Azim Qureshi, President of Dow Graduate Association of North America (DOGANA) made sure that voices be heard and took a pro-active approach. DOGANA distributed T-shirts with names and photos of slain Physicians and DOGANA’s social forum was on this topic.  APPNA Adhoc Committee also met with Ambassador of Pakistan on this issue and was well received. Red ribbon were worn by physicians on Saturday Dinner.

Pakistan is one of the world’s most important Muslim nations. It’s a nuclear power. It is allied to the West in the war against terror, and is under civilian rule instead of a military dictatorship. But Pakistani government is also a country in a state of denial, turning a blind eye to the sexual exploitation of many thousands of poor and vulnerable children. It’s estimated that over four million children across Pakistan are forced to work from an early age due to poverty and up to one and a half million live on the streets. Recently there was documentary released mainly focusing on Peshawar, where it is estimated that nine out of ten street children have been sexually abused.

Hasan Mansoor in daily “DAWN” reported on the mini epidemic of Brain Eating Amoeba in Karachi. It was reported that a female from Adamjee Nagar area fell ill and was found to be co-infected with Naegleria Fowleri, better known as” brain Eating Amoeba” and Dengue fever.

Saiyed Abid Ali Zaidi, Chairman Zaidi Abid Foundation has signed an agreement to develop Zaidi Abid Hospital and Zaidi Abid School of Medical Sciences in collaboration with Koohi Goth Women Hospital in Gulistan-e-Johar, Karachi,. Land has been donated by Zaidi Abid Foundation. The Zaidi Abid hospital will provide teaching facilities to the students of school medical sciences. The school of medical sciences will develop human resource in health sector. Further Zaidi Abid School of Medical Sciences will be open to enroll students for training in nursing, midwifery, paramedics, nurse aid and other branches of clinical medicine. This institution will also be beacon for research in various fields of medical sciences and above all the goal is to develop human resource, which we can be proud of. Continues Medical Education Program Department will be established which will conduct lectures and courses for paramedical staff to make them abreast the latest knowledge and be more efficient. Zaidi Abid Foundation’s goal is to have the hospital and institute to be functional between 18 to 24 months. Koohi Goth Women Hospital is grateful to Saiyed Abid Zaidi and foundation for a generous contribution in making this institution, serving the city of Karachi.

www.nhfus.org • Volume VII Number 3, September 2014Editor-in-Chief: Tanveer Imam

PAKISTAN’S HIDDEN SHAME

APPNA FOUNDATION BOARD ANNOUNCED

BRAIN-EATING AMOEBA CLAIMLIVES IN KARACHI

Dr. Asif Rehman, President of Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America (APPNA) announced the Board of APPNA FOUNDATION for the year 2014. APPNA FOUNDATION will work to establish an endowment, as it is an effective way in investing in the future of the organization. The “Foundation” will provide financial stability to APPNA and will help the organization to carry on its philanthropic work in healthcare and to give back to the community. APPNA FOUNDATION like APPNA will be a Secular Organization. The Chair of Board of Trustee will be the President of APPNA, Dr. Asif Rehman. Other members of the BOT are President Elect Dr. Mubasher Rana, Dr. Aftab Naz, Dr. Saeed Khan, Dr. Omar Atiq, and Dr. Yakoob Shaikh. Board of Management will consist of Dr. Naseem Shekhani, Dr. Nasir Gondal, Dr. Ahsan Rashid, Mr. Qamar Zaman and Jennifer Wozniak.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEFTanveer Imam

EDITORAmin GaditMasood Moeen

PUBLICATION COMMITTEEIffat Shah-IbrahimRaheel R. KhanMujeeb-ur RehmanMuslim JamiJunaid SyedAsif MonuddinMansoor AbidiRizwan JabirWamique Yusuf Naseem Shekhani

ARTICLE SUBMISSIONWe encourage every reader to send articles throughout the year on healthcare issues in Pakistan and the US. Articles can be emailed as text or in MS Word format to shekhani1@gmail.com. The Editor reserves the right to edit content of all articles that are submitted.

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DISCLAIMERHealth Beat, the NHF newsletter, is a bi-monthly newsletter and provides health information to its readers. The views expressed are those of authors and do notnecessarily represent the official position of either the editor or the editorial board.

NATIONAL HEALTHFORUMPO BOX 240093Ballwin, MO 63024SEPTEMBER 2014 ISSUE

EDITORIALESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL SCHOOLS

The call to open a new medical school in a certain region lies with the local and state government. It is the prerogative of the state to grant or withhold

permission on the basis of need and cost to the state. The quantity and of course the quality of medical graduates have been regulated by Federal and State institutions over the years. No new medical schools were formed in U.S.A. (not counting osteopathic schools) for over 40 years up until a few years ago. More recently we have seen a small surge of new schools opening up in different regions of United States. To give you an idea, there were 126 medical schools in late 1960s, the number dropped to 124 in 2005 because of a closure and merger of a school. However, almost 20 new schools have opened in just a decade.

The decision to open a new medical school depends on the financial capability of the state and/or private enterprise and on the political and market forces determining the need for medical graduates. One has to ponder about the possible reasons of the recent growth of medical schools in United States? The Affordable Care Act or ObamaCare may have a bearing on it, as the United States will require more doctors to implement the plan. As we know, millions of Americans do not carry medical insurance at the current time and through ObamaCare they may get access to healthcare, albeit a truncated and pruned one. There is a gap between the number of residency slots available and the number of American medical graduates that is filled by Osteopathic medical graduates, American citizens graduating from foreign medical schools and foreign medical doctors. Legislative bills have been introduced to both Houses of Representatives to increase the number of Medicare supported Graduate Medical Education (residency) slots by 15,000 to overcome the physician shortage.

More than a century ago, The American Medical Association formed the Council on Medical Education (CME) to regulate medical education. This was a time when medical schools had mushroomed in the country and their education was not standardized. The CME in its meeting chalked out the minimum criteria needed for admission in a medical school and a standard four year medical education consisting of 2 years of basic sciences and 2 years of clinical training. The AMA solicited “The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching” to survey the standard of medical education in the country. Abraham Flexner, an educator was given the responsibility and he published his report in 1910 after an exhaustive survey of ALL the medical institutes. The “Flexner Report” castigated the functioning of many sub-standard medical institutions forcing their closure or causing major restructuring of their teaching faculty. Almost half of the medical schools were forced to close and the number of medical graduates was drastically cut down. The emphasis was on quality rather than quantity. The Flexner report has remained the exemplar on medical education till now.

The American Medical Association, which initiated the creation of Flexner Report, has now come up with a $10 million initiative to modify it. AMA’s “Accelerating Change in Medical Education” is planned to modernize medical education in step with the new demands and growth. It is an initiative to think, “out-of-the-box” to fulfill the need of the growing population and to produce a new culture in medical education. How this turns out in terms of effective health care delivery is to be seen.

In the midst of all these changes we hear that Association of Pakistani Physicians of North America (APPNA) is seriously considering opening up a medical school. The details of the plan are not available but responsible officials have made the intentions public in meetings. The members are startled by the news, as it is difficult to fathom how the organization will be able to come up with the large sum of money (minimum of $100 million) as well the required organization needed to pull through such a tedious and exhausting task. More importantly the debate has switched to the utility of undertaking this venture. What exactly does the Pakistani diaspora get out of this heavy expenditure project? Is this all to make us feel good and to send a signal to the American citizenry about the Pakistani expatriates intentions to integrate in American society? Can there be a better or inexpensive way to do it? Is the project for-profit and will APPNA have any leverage in bestowing higher medical training to able and deserving Pakistani medical graduates at such a center? And could we not have made a greater contribution by opening up a high-class medical institute in Pakistan on the lines of Aga Khan Medical University, which could be the torchbearer for others?

There isn’t one good answer to these questions. Projects that are done for the larger interest of common man have historically been more endurable and productive. The jury is still out on both AMA and APPNA on their respective initiatives.

Tanveer M. Imam, M.D. Editor-in-Chief

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Tanveer Imam Editor-in-Chief, is graduate of Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan, class of 1986. Dr. Imam is practicing Gastroenterologist in Allentown, PA and written extensively on health care issues.

PHYSICIAN KILLING HIGHLIGHTED DURING APPNA ANNUAL MEETING 2014 By: M. Zaffar Iqbal, MD

Pakistan has become an unsafe place for minorities and Muslims belonging to minority sects especially the Shia and Ahmadiyya communities. Rise of extremism in Pakistan is a direct result of State patronage of Jihadi

groups. Proxy wars in India and Afghanistan, justifies in the minds or plans of some, the existence of this menace for which our civil society pays a heavy price. State unwillingness to reform educational curriculum and laws like Blasphemy keeps the civil society under control of extremists.

Dr. Mehdi Qamar, an APPNA (Association of Pakistani American Physicians of North America) physician belonging to Ahmadiyya sect was brutally murdered while visiting Pakistan. Dr. Qamar was killed for his beliefs while volunteering his time and talent in Pakistan. APPNA’s President, Dr. Asif Rehman, issued a strong statement condemning the murder and put together an adhoc committee for social justice under the leadership of Dr. Muslim Jami.

DOGANA, the Dow Medical College Alumni Association, under the leadership of Dr. Azim Quraishi, highlighted the plight of physician killing during APPNA annual meeting in Washington DC from August 13 to August 17. DOGANA distributed free T shirts with pictures of slain physicians from various medical colleges in Pakistan. T shirts were well received by all physicians attending APPNA conference. DOGANA then held a press conference on this issue later in the afternoon. DOGANA social forum, attended by about 300 guests, focused on physician killings in Pakistan.

APPNA Social Justice Committee held a Congressional staff briefing on Friday 15th August. Since Congress was at recess so the briefing was attended by about 8 Congressional office staff. APPNA physicians and representative from Ahmadiyya community testified. Raza Rumi, the main speaker, highlighted the plight of minority sects in Pakistan.

Next day APPNA visited the Pakistani Ambassador to US, Mr. Yousaf Raza Jalil Abbas Jilani the signature of 300 physicians on petition condemning the attack on physicians and asking government to ban jihadi groups. Ambassador listened to our demands and assured that government is serious on this issue and have put together a special committee to investigate the sectarian killing. Committee asked the honorable ambassador to get us the deliberation of the committee. Special point person was designated at the embassy to communicate with APPNA on the killing of Dr. Mehdi Qamar.

APPNA later that afternoon held a press conference attended by various media outlets. APPNA committee during the banquet distributed “red ribbons” to show solidarity with physicians killed by the extremist. Red ribbons were welcomed by physicians and APPNA president elect, Dr. Mubasher Rana, wore the ribbon during his speech addressing 5000 attendees.

We hope to continue to work on this very relevant issue for physicians as well as citizens of Pakistan to create a safer and more just society for all in Pakistan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Zaffar Iqbal is an Internist living in Las Vegas NV. He is a founder and Chairman of Premier Care Network, ACO. He is a board member of Eqbal Ahmed Centre for Public education (eacpe.org) a non-profit committed in promoting reasoning and rationality in Pakistan.

Dr. Naseem Shekhani, awarded for political activism at APPNA main banquet wearing red ribbon and T-shirt in making audience aware of senseless killing of doctors.

APPNA Adhoc Committee Chairman Dr. Muslim Jami and Delegate with Ambassador Jilani.

Drs. Shagufta Naqvi, Ghazala Kazi, Aneeta Afzal and Shahid Hasnain.

APPNA Social Justice Committee meets Ambassador Jilani.

SERVE OUR CIVIL HOSPITAL (SOCH) FOUR DAY SCHOOLVOLUNTEERING PROGRAM

Serve Our Civil Hospital (S.O.C.H), a beacon of hope for Civil Hospital, is the brain child of the students of Dow Medical College and has been working successfully as an NGO for

the past three years. It is a non-political, student administered organization. We are running a cleanup and awareness campaign targeting not only the patients and their attendants, but also the working staff of Civil Hospital Karachi (CHK), both medical and non-medical. Recently S.O.C.H launched a new project designed to inculcate the spirit of volunteerism in high school going children

named SVP (School Volunteering Program). A group of 8-10 students at a time were invited to volunteer for a period of four days. Several Schools participated in this program. The volunteers spent two days in wards and two days in the OPD, each setting had a predesigned list of tasks based on the objective “awareness in and out”. A facilitation booth was set up in the Out Patient Department area where the students were stationed in the company of a senior to guide patients to their respective OPDs and laboratories. In wards, students demonstrated hand washing skills to the patients and their attendants and spent time with them, spreading awareness about infection control and personal hygiene. Pediatric and Gynecology wards were covered in this activity. At the beginning of each session these volunteers were briefed on the importance of cleanliness and hygiene, especially in a hospital setting, and SOCH’s

ambition to work for the cause. They were also taught certain important clinical skills like recording blood pressure, pulse, respiratory rate, temperature. The students participated with great zeal and zest. They took commendable interest in their duties and performed them in the earnest. They were very concerned about the lack of proper hygiene control in Civil and lauded SOCH for its commitment to change. Their concern was reflected in their dealings with the patients where they did their best to educate them regarding cleanliness and hygiene. Each day concluded with a “End of Day Meeting”, where the volunteers were encouraged to share their experience, and their complains and suggestions were welcomed. The youngsters pledged to work alongside SOCH in the future as well to further the cause of patient care. “Serving Civil Hospital was a great experience and something that I will always treasure. Interacting with people of different languages, casts and cultures was a real blend of fun and challenges. Yet I really appreciate the efforts of SOCH which is actively working for the betterment of Civil Hospital” stated Rafia Ali, Volunteer from Beacon House School System.

President of SOCH Hira Burhan was over all satisfied with the spirit of volunteerism this year and hope that with each coming year, SOCH will do better and better. The goal of SOCH is to get more high school volunteers involved including public schools.

The program was appreciated by a number of schools and they offered to send their students for volunteering at CHK for S.O.C.H. It was one of the most successful programs coordinated by S.O.C.H. We hope to receive more volunteers in the near future and to involve more and more students to Serve Our Civil Hospital. For more details on different projects visit, www.soch.net.pk or follow us on Facebook, www.facebook.com/serveourcivilhospital.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Zara Saeed is a student of Dow Medical College, Karachi, Pakistan and a dedicated SOCH volunteer. Zara Saeed will be in graduating in the class of 2015.

By: Zara Saeed

HIra Burhan, Pres. SOCH Showing BCLS to School VolunteersSOCH senior Volunteers preparing for Volunteer drive.

SOCH School Volunteers of 2014 with Dowites

SOCH SCHOOL VOLUNTEER FOUR DAY PROGRAM ATCIVIL HOSPITAL KARACHI

School Volunteer program is teaching High School Student the spirit of volunteerism and depicted in pictures showing young patient learning hand washing techniques and patient education on prevention. On Day 3 of volunteer program also celebrated Pakistan day, which patient enjoyed the most.

ST. LOUIS CELEBRATES PAKISTAN DAY WITHA MEDICAL TOUCH

St. Louis: August 2014: National health Forum in association with Pakistani American Association of Saint Louis organized a Health Fair on the occasion of Pakistan day celebration on

August 9th, 2014 at Marriott West Hotel, Saint Louis Missouri.

Health Screening for the community members which include checking of Blood Pressure and Oxygen monitoring and health advise by Dr. Shireen Qalbani and Dr. Nuzhat Nisar, Also with the courtesy of CLINLAB, basic lab test were offered. Vision Screening was also offered. Advice on Body Mass Index was given by Dr. Manzoor Tariq. Sikender Bajwa offered his expertise on Exercise, Health and Wellness.

This fair was attended by over 250 people from the Pakistani Community and recommendations regarding the preventive health were discussed with the visitors.

The medical portion was organized by Dr. Naseem Shekhani of National Health Forum, the program was very successful and was attended by about 70 physicians and other health providers. A formal presentation was given by Dr. Tariq Alam with courtesy of Power Health Mart on “Compounding medication for Neuropathic pain.”

The details of the program are as follows:

Education program: 7:00 PM TO 7:30 PMMaster of ceremony, Welcome the audienceSponsors: Manzoor Tariq MDIntroduction of Dr Tariq Alam : Dr. Ghazala Hayat MD

“Compounding: New treatment modalities in neuropathies and pain disorders.”

Tariq Alam MD Neurologist, Clinical Assistant Professor Neurology, St. Louis University. Thank you remarks: Mahmood Qalbani MD, Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology & Critical care. St Louis University, St Louis, Missouri.

The following companies had their information booths at the medical conference. These booths were visited by the medical personnel present at the meeting. Which included Arbor Pharmaceuticals, Makers of  Edarby & Edarbycyclor; Biotronic, Makers of Pacemakers, defibrillators; Gilead, Makers of Ranexa; & Medtronic, Makers of Drug Eluting & BM Stents, Pacers, IC; EllyLilly, Makers of Effient (Prasagrel); Genetech; Pfizer; Cyberonics; and Power Health Mart.

The success of this meeting was due to the untiring work of our Volunteers, Dr. Manzoor Tariq, Dr. Reema Syed, Dr. Ghazala Hayat, Dr. Naseem Shekhani and Abdul Wadood (President of Pakistan American Association of St. Louis). Medical portion of meeting went well with a team work.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:Dr. Mahmood Qalbani is Assistant Professor at St. Louis University in Department of Anesthesiology.

By: Mahmood Qalbani

Audience at CME session

Dr. Tariq Alam giving a CME talk along with Dr. Mazoor Tariq

Mr. Chris KosterKey Note speaker

In Pakistan there is no government facility for the poor to get access to Cochlear Implant Surgery. A totally deaf child is deprived of hearing everyday sounds and it is almost impossible to develop spoken language.

Prevalence of profound bilateral hearing loss is 1.6/1000 in Pakistan. 219,000 people world- wide have received Cochlear Implants (Dec 2010). The vast majority are done in developed countries due to the high cost of the device, surgery and rehabilitation.

A deaf child may not be yours but his parents look to you for help, he can’t afford this expensive device and rehabilitation program. A child born deaf will not develop any speech and will lose two important faculties. Post implantation rehabilitation takes up to two years to achieve optimal benefit.

The program was initially started at Dow University supported by a U.K. based registered charity International Medical Relief Agency (IMRA). In U.K. the average cost of a Cochlear Implant operation is about £20,000. Two Dow Surgeons had acquired training in the U.K. for 3 months and an Audiologist and a Speech therapist also acquired training in U.K for 4 months. IMRA paid for the training program with donations from ENT colleagues in U.K. Total amount spent was $30,000(Approx)

A team of senior doctors performed on Thursday, 13th of December 2012 first free Cochlear Implant on two girls aged 2 and 4 years at the Ojha campus of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS). Musfira and Fazila were short listed to undergo the operations after thorough assessments and fulfilling the criteria for this type of operation Mr. Noweed Ahmad Consultant Skull Base Surgeon and Neuro-Otologist from U.K. performed the operations assisted by Surgeons in Dow University.

Two additional operations were carried out at the end of June 2013 by the same team on two children at an expense of $30,000. The costs for the Implants were paid by IMRA this time and matched the earlier costs by Dow University. Additionally two Cochlear Implant Surgery was carried out on 2 patients in June 2014 at a Local Hospital in Karachi. IMRA supported these patients for their Rehabilitation costs to be incurred in the coming months as well as supporting one child in Lahore. This time the Surgeon was from Malaysia who has trained Pakistani Cochlear Implant Surgeons and has been coming to Pakistan for over 10 years. IMRA supported these patients at an expense of $6500 due to generous support from UK and US friends this time as well as in the past.

IMRA has teamed up with INDUS CHARITY HOSPITAL IN

KARACHI for future Cochlear Implant Surgery and intends to do a number of Implants in last week of August 2014. The U.K. Surgeon will be performing these operations and also training local surgeons.

MIRPURKHAS SINDH PROVINCE - Major Ear surgery project: 2008 - 2013. U.K. team of 5 Surgeons and 3 Local Surgeons have been operating in Civil Hospital Mirpurkhas over 5 years. IMRA has donated 5 microscopes, 2 middle ear surgery instrument sets and other equipment worth $110,000. The team has performed over 200 Major Ear Operations in 5 years. Examined over 700 patients with Chronic ear diseases in out-patients.

TEACHING & TRAININGCochlear Implant Project in Pakistan IMRA trained an Audiologist & Speech Therapist, and 2 Surgeons in London Hospitals.Facial Nerve Monitor - Donated this special equipment worth over $6500 to Dow University.Hearing Aids – 200 Hearing Aids donated to Dow University.

INDUS HOSPITAL KARACHI 2010-2013U.K. Team of ENT Surgeons have been operating on Major Ear cases at Indus Hospital for last 3 years. Over 35 major ear cases have been done and over 200 chronic ear disease patients have been examined.

DONATION TO INDUS HOSPITAL:Donation of Theatre Equipment - 5 microscopes worth over $65,000. Emergency Airway Equipment worth over $30,000. Other small surgical items worth over $16,000. 750 Hearing Aids will be dispensed in

the near future from Indus Hospital.

SAHIWAL DISTRICT HOSPITAL,PUNJABIMRA surgeons operated over 2 days on 6 major ear cases for the first time in November 2013.

FUTURE PROJECTS:Team of UK Surgeons along with Local Surgeons will visit Mirpurkhas ,Indus Hospital and has plans to support Indus Hospital in their other sites to support and establish ENT facilities e.g. Muzzaffargarh in Multan.

U.S.A ADDRESS: IMRA 5 Brentwood Ct. Warren N.J. 07059 USA

BANK DETAILS FOR DONATION Account Name: IMRAAccount No: 4280959128 TD BANK: Routing No: 031 201360 Mountain Blvd. Warren N.J. 07059

(Registered as non-profit corporation in N.J.)

Dr. Haroon Khan Press conference & Operating

Article by: Sairah Zafar

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Abdul Sattar Edhi, eating with kids

The need for a life-saving ambulance is critical: 100 persons injured in road traffic crashes a day in Karachi, 40 patients die every day due to cardiac arrest before reaching the hospital and there is a bomb blast

every third day (2012) in Pakistan’s financial hub. Established in 2009, Aman ambulance, which was incubated by the Aman Foundation, is a strategic solution to address the gaps in Karachi’s social services by providing state of the art medical services and is the only ambulance in Pakistan with advanced life saving equipment, medicines and a trained doctor/paramedic. It has impacted over 600,000 lives, almost 50 per cent being women and children. The Aman Foundation has been successfully operating its Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Karachi for the last 5 years.  Aman Foundation is the only private EMS provider with infrastructure and expertise in establishing and operating an emergency service across a major city and in just a few years, the service has redefined emergency care with a fleet of 100 fully-equipped ambulances. It also played a significant role in the flood relief efforts (2010/2011) across Sindh and Punjab operating as mobile clinics and providing urgent outpatient healthcare to around 100,000 victims. The service currently receives over 1,000 calls and performs approximately 400 interventions a day.  Aman ambulances are equipped with lifesaving medical equipment and medication, qualified doctors and trained paramedics thus providing critical in-transit care while en route to the hospital.  It is the only service in Pakistan that provides Advance Life Support capability in the field.  A network of seven strategically located stations across Karachi covering 90 key points ensures an average response time of 8 minutes and delivery to the emergency room within the “golden hour.” 

These mobile medical intervention capabilities i.e ambulances are at par with leading global indicators backed by a central Command and Control (C&C) Centre providing real-time ambulance tracking and a triage system on phone.  The Aman ambulance is the only service in Pakistan to use such triage tools.  It is also the only ambulance service that provides medical advice and first aid instructions over the phone till the time that the ambulance reaches the patient. To further enhance the effect of pre-hospital patient care in Pakistan, our EMS service has formed a strategic partnership with the Edhi Ambulance Service and with the Agha Khan University Hospital (AKUH).  Whilst Edhi’s large presence stands for efficient and timely transportation of patients, this cohesive approach is designed to facilitate diversion of critical and  life-saving cases to Aman ambulances and that of non-critical and

transportation cases to Edhi’s ambulance service.    This aids in efficient resource allocation while prioritizing the patient’s needs.  A strategic alliance has also been formed with the Agha Khan University Hospital (AKUH), where the Aman ambulance is their preferred partner for transportation of critical cases. An Aman ambulance intervention improves survival in the case of cardiac arrest by 3 times or 300 percent and survival in the case of trauma by more than 2 times.

Since its launch, the Aman Ambulance has been funded single handily by one donor and now to maintain the same level of service and impact – Aman is aiming to fund raise to replace its ageing fleet and to sustain the only ambulance service in the country that has lifesaving equipment, medicines and trained personnel.

The goal is to replace 50 ambulances this year costing USD 30000 while the cost of personnel, fuels and supplies is USD 40 per patient served/saved. 100 per cent of funds from donations will go directly to Aman Ambulance and no indirect/overheads will be charged from this fund. The donation is both deductible and zakat applicable.

THE AMAN FOUNDATION AMBULANCE– A SOLUTION TO KARACHI’S EMS NEEDS By: Sahar Ahmed

Advanced-Equipped Ambulance