Themes by tag: doctors

FRIDA Ukraine is launching retreat programs for medical workers from Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts as part of a project aimed at restoring mental health. The project is implemented with the support of the “Capable and Strong” program  (Eastern Europe Foundation and the Government of Switzerland).

On April 20-25, the retreat will take place in the Chernivtsi oblast. Participants will include 20 medical workers from Sumy and Kharkiv oblasts and 4 psychologists.

The retreat offers an opportunity to immerse in silence and engage in restorative practices after years of working under chronic stress, shelling, and overwhelming pressure. The program includes body-oriented practices, meditation, art therapy, and lectures on burnout prevention and recovery from secondary traumatization.

Journalists will have the opportunity to interact with the participants, facilitators and psychologists, take photos/videos onsite, or obtain comments remotely. Accreditation is required for the event.

Background: According to the Ministry of Health, over 75% of medical professionals in Ukraine experience symptoms of professional burnout. The full-scale war has only added to the challenges: during the invasion, 1,982 health facilities were damaged and 301 were destroyed. Specialists from the Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts are particularly vulnerable as they work at the limits of their capacity: under shelling, with a lack of resources and a heavy patient load.

FRIDA Ukraine is a medical volunteer mission that unites over 1,500 doctors from Ukraine and around the world. Volunteers work in frontline regions, setting up mobile clinics, conducting free screenings, and providing medical assistance to civilians.

• doctors
• psychological support
• Chernivtsi

Anton Osokin, 28, is an oncologist. Originally from Donetsk Oblast, he has lived in Kharkiv since 2014. In August 2022, he joined the Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission FRIDA Ukraine to help civilians affected by the war. When Ukrainian forces liberated occupied areas of the Kharkiv region in September 2022, Anton took part in the first field missions to the newly freed settlements. He recalls being most struck by the sight of homes reduced to rubbles and charred tanks scattered across the area. While providing medical assistance, he could still hear fighting in the distance.

Throughout russia’s wide-ranging military offensive, Anton has continued to work at the Kharkiv Regional Clinical Oncology Center, where he heads the operating room, while also participating in FRIDA Ukraine missions. His work has taken him to Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Sumy regions.

Anton says the missions often reveal advanced-stage cancer in patients. Several individuals he examined in the field later traveled to Kharkiv for treatment.

Interviews with Anton can be arranged in advance, either in Kharkiv, during field missions, or online.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-profit, non-governmental medical mission made up of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. Since the start of the invasion, the organization has been providing emergency and outpatient care to civilians affected by the war.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kharkiv

On April 11, media representatives are invited to attend a capsule laying ceremony in Briukhovychi, Lviv region, marking the start of reconstruction at a medical rehabilitation center set to become the largest facility within the UNBROKEN national rehabilitation center humanity ecosystem.

The project includes the full renovation of the current rehabilitation center and the construction of new buildings. The total area of the facility will expand from 5,124 m² to 9,101 m². Upon completion, the center will accommodate 105 beds, making it the largest institution in the UNBROKEN network. The initiative is a key phase in a broader Lithuanian government program aimed at supporting the rehabilitation and reintegration of Ukrainian veterans.

Foundation work has already been completed for both the new buildings and the swimming pool facility, with reconstruction of the existing premises currently underway. The project is scheduled for completion by November 2025.

Speakers:

– Inga Stanytė-Toločkienė, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Lithuania to Ukraine;

– Lina Janionytė, Program Manager at the Central Project Management Agency (CPVA);

– Representatives of the Vilnius City Municipal Council;

– Maksym Dotsenko, Director General of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society;

– Andriy Sadovyi, Mayor of Lviv;

– Maksym Kozytskyy, Head of the Lviv Regional Military Administration;

– Yulian Holyk, Director of St. Panteleimon Hospital;

– Oleksandr Hura, Director of Watzenrode LLC (main contractor). 

The event will also feature a pre-ceremony press conference with representatives from the Lviv City Council, the Lithuanian delegation, the Lviv Regional Military Administration, the Red Cross, and the First Medical Union of Lviv.

Accreditation is required for attendance.

For reference: The project is being implemented by the Central Project Management Agency of Lithuania (CPVA) with funding from Lithuania’s Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid Fund.

• doctors
• Lviv

Vladyslava Romaniuk is a general practitioner and gastroenterologist. She leads the medical volunteer mission FRIDA Ukraine and also serves as the head of the infection control department and project manager at the treatment and rehabilitation center for military personnel at the Oberig Multidisciplinary Clinic.

Originally from the village of Mykilske near Mariupol, Vladyslava moved to Kyiv in 2012 to pursue her studies.

Just days before the full-scale invasion began, she and her family had gone on vacation. On the first day of the war, her husband was in Mariupol but managed to reach the Zaporizhia region. After returning from their trip, her parents remained in the capital. Her grandparents, however, are currently living under occupation. Vladyslava is also a mother.

She was among the first volunteers to join FRIDA Ukraine. Since then, she has taken part in approximately 50 medical missions to areas that were previously under occupation. Vladyslava provides care to patients both in bomb shelters in Donetsk Oblast and in a Kyiv-based clinic.

She has repeatedly taken part in highly dangeros U.S. missions. For instance, volunteer doctors, including Vladyslava, operated in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, while intense street fighting raged through the city.

Interviews with Vladyslava can be arranged in Kyiv or during one of the field missions conducted by the team of medical volunteers.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a non-governmental, non-profit medical mission consisting of volunteer doctors from Ukraine and Israel. Since the onset of the invasion, the mission has provided emergency and outpatient medical care to civilians affected by the hostilities.

• doctors
• volunteers
• women

The only pediatric burn center in western Ukraine that accepts the most critical cases will now be able to treat children at home – in Ukraine – instead of sending them abroad, as was previously the case. St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv now has everything it needs to save young patients with severe burns. The grand opening of the updated pediatric burn center will take place on March 28.

Approximately 12,000 children in Ukraine suffer from burns every year. The war has exacerbated the situation, as any mine or explosion injury is often accompanied by severe thermal trauma.

St. Nicholas Hospital is now fully equipped to care for pediatric burn patients, with advanced and expensive intensive care equipment, a specialized burn bed, a dedicated treatment room, and a laser for post-burn scar resurfacing.

Patients will attend the opening, including Robert, a fifth-grader who tried to replicate a popular TikTok trend by making a homemade firecracker. As a result, he suffered severe chemical burns to his face.

At the opening, members of the media will have the opportunity to speak with Robert and other children who have suffered burns in a variety of circumstances – as well as their parents, doctors, and representatives from socially responsible companies. Prior to the official opening, journalists will also have the opportunity to attend a training session led by the hospital’s burn surgeons for Lviv schoolchildren. The training will teach first aid for burns and raise awareness about the dangers of TikTok trends.

Registration is required for the event.

• casualties
• children
• doctors
• Lviv

Viktoriia Didovets, a charge nurse in the Intensive and Efferent Therapy Department for Acute Intoxication at the National Children’s Hospital Okhmatdyt, was injured during a missile strike on the hospital on July 8, 2024. As the attack unfolded, she was evacuating children on dialysis to a shelter when a missile struck the building.

By the time Viktoriia was rushed to the operating room, her pulse was barely detectable. She was diagnosed with a fractured pelvis, an open hip fracture, a ruptured liver, and injuries to her face and ear. For more than eight months, she has been undergoing treatment, determined to regain a full life.

By prior arrangement, Viktoriia is available for interviews in Kyiv or online.

Background: On July 8, 2024, a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile struck Okhmatdyt Children’s Hospital. At the time of the attack, 627 children were inside.

The strike killed two people—a doctor and a patient’s relative—while injuring 35 others, including nine children. On July 10, a boy who had been in critical condition in intensive care at the time of the attack succumbed to his injuries in a Kyiv hospital.

• casualties
• children
• doctors
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

Dr. Serhii Baksheiev is a gynecologist, obstetrician, reproductive specialist, general practitioner, and a medical volunteer with a PhD in medicine. Since the early days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he has been treating women and assisting with deliveries, all while under fire.

In late 2022, Baksheiev launched his own initiative, which he named the ‘Feminine Shuttle’. This specialized mobile unit is designed for gynecological exams in de-occupied and frontline regions. The vehicle is outfitted with a gynecological chair and all the necessary equipment for thorough examinations.

In a challenging turn of events, Baksheiev was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He underwent surgery and chemotherapy in September 2024. Despite his health battle, he has continued his mission to help those in need. Even while recovering from surgery, he joined FRIDA Ukraine’s volunteer medics on a mission to the Sumy region.

Journalists wishing to speak with Dr. Baksheiev can arrange interviews with him either in Kyiv or during his field missions.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission focused on providing high-quality care to war-affected civilians.

• casualties
• doctors
• volunteers
• women
• Kyiv

Hennadii Stukalo is an anesthesiologist and head of the anesthesiology department at the Chernihiv regional hospital. From the very beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, he stayed at the hospital around the clock.

During the most intense days of the encirclement, more than 50 wounded patients arrived within an hour, all requiring urgent surgery. With no electricity, heating or water, and under constant shelling and airstrikes, Stukalo and his team worked tirelessly to save lives, even performing complex surgical procedures under extreme conditions.

Due to frequent power outages, the doctors had to illuminate the operating room with headlamps, flashlights and cell phones. To keep patients warm, they used plastic bottles filled with hot water.

Journalists have the opportunity to interview Dr. Stukalo both online and in person.

Background: On April 6, 2022, the Ukrainian Defense Forces completely liberated Chernihiv oblast from russian occupation

• casualties
• doctors
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

Before the full-scale invasion, Maryna Sadykova, the founder of the “Repower” charitable foundation, worked in event management. After 24 February, she and her team shifted their focus to supporting Ukrainian soldiers. However, the intense volunteer work took a toll on her mental health, leading to burnout and anxiety. In search of recovery, she traveled to the Carpathian Mountains, an experience that inspired her to create a psychological support program. Initially, the project aimed to help fellow military volunteers, but due to limited funding, the team decided to focus on combat medics — those on the front lines saving soldiers’ lives.

This led to the creation of the “Repower” project in Kyiv, which provides mental health recovery programs for Ukrainian combat medics. The organization has developed a sustainable psychological rehabilitation program — a 10-day retreat in Sweden, Denmark and Spain. Ukrainian psychologists accompany the medics on each trip. The program includes therapeutic exercises, individual counseling, group sessions, art therapy and music therapy. To date, “Repower” has organized 12 trips for 847 participants.

Following the retreat, journalists will have the opportunity to interview Maryna Sadykova and program participants, either online or in person, by prior arrangement.

• doctors
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women

On March 19, FRIDA Ukraine will lead a one-day medical mission to an orphanage in Tarascha, Kyiv Oblast—their second visit to the facility. The orphanage houses approximately 70 school-age children, some of whom have parents deprived of parental rights, while others have medical conditions such as autism or Down syndrome.

The volunteer medical team includes specialists in pediatrics, dermatovenerology, pediatric neurology, ophthalmology, pediatric endocrinology, ultrasound diagnostics, surgery/urology, psychology, and otolaryngology.

Photo and Video Guidelines: Close-up images of children’s faces are strictly prohibited in photo and video materials. Only general shots or images capturing children from behind or in profile are permitted.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine is a Ukrainian-Israeli medical volunteer mission dedicated to assisting civilians. Its volunteer doctors provide specialized medical care to Ukrainians affected by the war.

• children
• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv