PAA Philanthropic Committee Announces a New Fundraiser

To build the first-ever Two Bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at the University Hospital in Heraklion to serve all of Greece, Free of Charge

“We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.”

Winston Churchill

Dear Friends,

The Pancretan Association of America (PAA) has a long history of philanthropic firsts. Over the past ninety plus years, the PAA has donated to causes throughout the island of Crete and Greece, changing generations of lives for the better.

This year, the PAA Philanthropic Committee was approached by Dr. Ioannis Karakis, MD, PhD, MSc, an academic Neurologist specializing in Epilepsy who recently returned to Greece after nearly two decades of training at Harvard and teaching as faculty at Emory University. He is currently the Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of Crete and an Adjunct Professor of Neurology at Emory University. Dr. Karakis asked the PAA to help establish the first ever Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at the University Hospital of Heraklion where patients with seizures can be effectively diagnosed and treated.

The timing of this request is important to note. The Neurology ward at the University Hospital is currently undergoing renovations for the creation of a Stroke Unit. This project provides a unique opportunity to create an Epilepsy Monitoring Unit in parallel. These Units would not only be for the island of Crete but for the whole country of Greece.

The creation of a two-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) is an essential initiative in Crete. It presents a unique opportunity to enhance outcomes for individuals struggling with epileptic seizures. EMUs are “the gold standard” for the differential diagnosis, classification, quantification, and localization of seizures. Today, Crete and the surrounding islands do not have access to high-level means to diagnose epileptic seizures. The prevalence of epilepsy is approximately 1% of the population. Once our two-bed EMU is operational, we will be able to admit, diagnose and treat these patients with seizure disorders, free of charge!

This endeavor has the full support of both Dr. Panagiotis Mitsias, MD, PhD, Chief Medical Officer at the University of Crete Hospital and George M. Kontakis, Rector of the University of Crete. To build out the two-bed Epilepsy Monitoring Unit would require the PAA to raise $110,000.00 US dollars. The PAA Philanthropic Committee will be donating towards the fundraising efforts but we are also currently seeking donations, large and small, to help us achieve our goal to build the two-bed unit within the next six months. Those who donate over $10,000 will be honored with their name on a permanent plaque in the Unit and donors will also be recognized as Great Benefactors of the Pancretan Association of America.

We hope you will join us as a partner as we venture to offer the best of humanity to those in need of our help. To donate, please contact Evangelia Hobitakis at ehobitakis@pancretan.org or you can call her at (847) 414-1891.

You can also mail a check to Pancretan Association of America, 6505 Bells Mill Road, Bethesda, MD 20817 (payable to Pancretan Association of America, please put Epilepsy Project in the memo line) or you can visit our website at www.pancretan.org and go to the Donate Now page to donate to this project.

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.