Life is short, but it is long enough to at least try to do what is right.

Ala Nemerenco is the director of the Clinic for Primary Health Care of the State Medical and Pharmaceutical University of Moldova. In only two short years since its opening, the center has become a model for the entire country and has set a new standard for offering health services at the highest international levels, for instructing medical students and residents, and for supporting family medicine practices throughout the country.

In her current capacity as director of the Primary Health Care Clinic, Ala Nemerenco is responsible for overseeing day-to-day management of the clinic and implementation of new pilot project initiatives including instruction of medical students and medical professionals in family medicine, and the creation of community outreach initiatives. A doctor on the front lines of the war on diseases, she is closer to people’s pain and suffering than anyone else. To become a doctor it takes more than simply choosing a career, it has to be a lifelong passion. Ala is one of those doctors who have followed the call of their hearts in order to practice medicine. By being next to her patients throughout the years, Ala has had the opportunity to witness the cruel effects on people’s lives of a society and an economy in full transition. She has done everything she could to make a difference, and somewhere in between realized that the inherited medical system of the ex-Soviet Union required many changes and adjustments. Ala Nemerenco’s biggest impact has been the creation of the University Clinic for Primary Health Care: a true oasis in the medical system of Moldova, where today well-trained doctors are ready to win the war against pain and suffering. The doctors are aided by high-technology equipment and armed with the two most effective weapons of all: smiles and compassion. The University Clinic has developed projects for young people, pregnant women, small children, high-risk patients, and more. The clinic’s director has so many plans for the future that these could last others for a lifetime. Ala has always believed that positive change is possible, and is currently pursuing that dream. There is only one problem: there is so much more that needs to be done!

University Clinic for Primary Health Care