Seasons Greetings for the coming Festive Season

We have reached the time of the year when many families are celebrating Christmas or Hanukah and/or are about to welcome and celebrate the 2012 New Year.

Wherever you are as this year closes and families come together for shorter or longer holiday breaks, I extend my very best wishes to you all.

I hope the 2012 New Year brings peace, good health and happiness to all of you.

Ostomy News from the Regions

EOA

EOA Congress in Lviv

With great pleasure and fond memories we’re looking back at the EOA congress in May 2011 in Ukraine.

ASTOM did a very good job of hosting this conference.

Thanks for all the efforts of Professor Lozynsky and his team at ASTOM.

During the meeting in London in November 2011 the EOA-EC decided the next conference in 2014 will be in the beautiful city of Krakow in Poland.

Also there are activities being set-up in Africa. You can read about this on our EOA website (www.ostomyeurope.org) what is happening in Zimbabwe, Ethiopia and Ghana.

World Ostomy Day 2012

At the EOA Executive Committee meeting in London it was decided that the theme for World Ostomy Day 2012 would be “Let’s be Heard” and a new logo was introduced.

More information about the Coloplast Merit Award, the Hollister photographic competition etc., will be published on the IOA website.

 OAA

OAA is actively seeking funds to enable stoma nurse training courses to be held in Colombia, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile and Paraguay. Plans are still in the development stage for ostomy patient educational seminars to be held in two Dominican Republic cities in mid 2012.  In conjunction with these meetings efforts will be made to organize a national ostomy association in the Dominican Republic. 

Jorge Vargas, Colima, Mexico is doing an outstanding job in western Mexico organizing ostomy support groups and providing ostomy patients with educational information.

It is anticipated that OAA will have its website,www.OstomyAmericas.org up and running by the end of January.

ASPOA

ASPOA Conference in Tehran 18^th-21^st October

Iran Ostomy Society hosted a very successful Conference and House of Delegates meeting at the Olympic Hotel.

Conferees were very well looked after by the hosts and we were treated to some excellent speakers as well as some memorable evenings at dinner.

Some of the delegates and conference attendees had the opportunity to visit Isfahan and go on different tours.

Iran Ostomy Society (IOS) have 3000 ostomates as members in Tehran. IOS has had three story structure which they own for the benefits and meetings for the ostomates. IOS has established a scientific group that has many surgeons and medical professionals participating in support of ostomates in Iran and they will establish Ostomy Care for improving the QOL of ostomates not only in Iran but also surrounding countries.

Just before the conference a stoma care education programme was also started for nurses in Tehran with the help of “Lions for Stoma Care”. Prof. Carlo Pezcoller and Dr. Harikesh Buch lead the programme. 20 nurses were trained in IOS in Stoma Care, Wound Care & Incontinence care.

On the last day of the Conference, the new ASPOA website was launched thanks to Ronaldo Lora’s excellent efforts.

A new Strategic plan is being established for the region