Al-Ekha`a is one of the largest and most important healthcare centers in Atemh, Northwestern Syria. It resides in the middle of the refugee camps there and serves a population that is currently estimated to be 500,000 people. This population number is constantly changing due to the displacement movement. The center is specialized in women’s and children’s health and serves an average of 5,500 patients per month.

The center is equipped with 2 operating rooms, 1 delivery room, 9 nursery incubators, 2 departments – obstetrics & gynecology, and pediatrics, with more than 80 employees.

Furthermore, Al-Ekha`a center is one of the few medical centers in Syria that uses an Electronic Medical Reporting System (EMR) to improve the efficiency of the work, maintain unique medical record charts for each patient, and facilitate extraordinary care to patients #HealthySyriaTB . The center is academically oriented and heavily implements education and conducts research. Indeed, four study manuscripts have come from the center so far with two of them currently in press, and with many more yet to come.

Vision:

Provide high-quality healthcare for the displaced people and refugees in northwestern Syrian

Missions:

• To respond to the need of refugees or displaced people in northwestern Syrian
• Provide high-quality healthcare for women, including perinatal care, family planning, cancer screening, menopausal care, and infertility care
• Provide high-quality children’s and adolescent’s care, including care for nutritional disorders, cardiac disorders, psychiatric disorders, and infectious diseases
• Become an excellent educational center for medical students and residents
• Become a leading center in research

2018 highlighted statistics:

• The center served 30,790 patients for 59,897 visits. Among these patients were 8,732 males and 22,058 females, more than half of these patients live in the refugees` tents, while the rest live in home buildings
• Almost 15,000 antenatal care visits
• Birth delivery: 3,645 cases (901 among them were through Caesarean section),
• Total of 1,282 surgeries (including Caesarean section).

Research and publications from the center:

• Terkawi AS, Bakri B, Alsadek AS, Al-Hasan AH, Alrahhal MS, Alsaleh FM, Alsatouf FA, Arab MI, Jnaid H, Hadid AA, Terkawi RS, Zahran MM, Alghannam NA, Altirkawi KA. Child and adolescent health in northwestern Syria: Findings from Healthy-Syria 2017 study. Avicenna J Med 2019;XX:XX-XX (In press).
• Terkawi AS, Bakri B, Alsadek AS, Alsibaee RH, Alasfar EM, Albakour AH, Aljouja AY, Alshaikhwais NA, Fares FA, Flood PD, Jnaid H, Najib AA, Saloom DA, Zahra NA, Altirkawi KA. Women’s health in Northwestern Syria: Findings from Healthy-Syria 2017 study. Avicenna J Med 2019;XX:XX-XX (In press).

Budget and Capacity

The monthly operation cost for the center may reach up to $45,000. The center has the following employees:

• 13 doctors (7 female and 6 male)
• 21 nurses
• 6 midwives
• 31 employees (e.g., administration, technicians, driver, and others)

 Help us:

Your generous donation will help us to continue achieving our vision and missions. You can take the following numbers as an example: (monthly physician salary $1400, midwife salary $500, nursing salary $325, normal delivery cost roughly $100, or cesarean section roughly $200), or any other amount you like.