Bluestream Health, a telehealth platform designed to power healthcare providers and patients, no matter their location, language, or age, today announced that it has partnered with The Azadi Project to provide virtual care services to refugee women and girls fleeing from countries like Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq and Syria for safety in Greece.
Azadi is working with refugee women living in some of the harshest conditions with little or no access to basic essentials or health care needs including mental health services. The Azadi Project (Azadi meaning freedom or liberation in Hindi, Urdu and Farsi) helps heal mental injuries, builds confidence and provides digital communications training to facilitate employment. The organization provides a safe space and psychosocial support so that women can get back to living a fulfilling, safe and healthy life. The Azadi Project is based on the principles of freedom, integration and dignity and promotes refugee and gender rights.
“Bluestream Health has teamed with The Azadi Project to provide a virtual care platform that stretches around the world. The women fleeing war-torn and conflict-affected countries have suffered unspeakable abuse, and while seeking safety in Greece, they are further exposed to terrible living conditions and hostility. They are in need of proper care and psychosocial support as they navigate their new realities as a refugee,” said Matthew Davidge, co-founder and CEO, Bluestream Health. “Internet connectivity knows no international boundaries, and we are happy to extend our platform and services for this worthy cause.”
Bluestream’s system provides millions of video minutes per month to health systems across the United States. The company routes incoming call requests to the right providers based on language, need and availability. Most of the refugee women and girls speak Farsi, a language that many health providers do not speak, and language barriers often prevent proper care. However, Bluestream’s virtual care platform seamlessly connects refugee women in Greece with counselors in the United States and video interpreters either at the camp in Greece or across the United States. Bluestream Health works with language service providers to make sure to service patients in their language of origin so they are getting the best care possible.
The Azadi Project was founded three years ago and has helped over 50,000 refugees – more than half of them women and children – waiting for reunification or final asylum approval in Greece. There are almost no facilities or programs at camps that help the refugees constructively use their time of waiting or actively prevent their risk of exposure to traffickers, smuggling networks and prostitution.
“For many women, making the choice to seek refuge in another land for safety is a big risk and a huge decision. Working with Bluestream Health will make this journey a bit easier for many of these women and girls because they now have access to psychosocial support services – even if the refugee women, providers and interpreters are thousands of miles apart, despite differences of time zone and language,” said Azadi’s founder and managing director, Priyali Sur.
Bluestream Health is an intuitive and extremely flexible virtual care platform combining video connectivity with the power of medical workflows across every point in the care continuum. Simple to use, Bluestream Health connects physicians, interpreters and patients in a single solution that is scalable to meet the evolving needs of both large and small healthcare providers.
“Technology is no replacement for care but it can enable it. A smiling face on video, particularly one that helps develop basic skills can focus the mind on a positive future and leave behind the darkness of the past,” added Davidge.
