Themes by tag: doctors

On April 16, the seventh mission of Taiwanese doctors to Ukraine will begin. A team from Mackay Memorial Hospital — one of Taiwan’s largest hospitals — will work in the Zhytomyr region. With the support of the Vision for Ukraine Charitable Foundation, the doctors will provide free medical and dental care to Ukrainian service members and their families.

Since 2023, the team has provided assistance to more than 2,000 patients across nine regions of Ukraine. The doctors also train Ukrainian colleagues and students while building long-term cooperation with medical institutions.

Media can arrange interviews with the medical team both online and offline in the Zhytomyr region upon prior request.

• doctors
• Zhytomyr

On April 17, volunteer doctors from FRIDA Ukraine will travel to an orphanage in the Kyiv region. The team includes around 20 medical professionals, including a pediatrician, neurologist, psychologist, dentist, and surgeon. The doctors regularly visit the facility and provide medical care to children.

On April 18–19, FRIDA Ukraine missions will travel to the Mykolaiv and Sumy regions to provide medical assistance to civilians.

By prior arrangement, journalists can cover the work of the medical teams and conduct interviews with both patients and doctors.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine medical volunteer missions are regular deployments of multidisciplinary medical teams to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists, such as neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, dermatologists, and others. During these visits, residents receive free consultations, examinations, and tests. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings.

• doctors
• volunteers

Dentist Ivanna Romanchuk joined the medical volunteer missions of FRIDA Ukraine in 2023. During deployments, she primarily provides surgical care. She says that people living near the front line often endure pain and discomfort for long periods because they have no access to dental care. As a result, even routine dental conditions frequently progress to stages where tooth extraction becomes the only option.

One of the most dramatic cases Ivanna encountered took place in the Kherson region during one of her first missions with FRIDA Ukraine. A week earlier, russian forces had destroyed the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant. Despite this, the long-planned visit by the medical team went ahead.

Artillery shelling continued, and the team was preparing to evacuate the location. But one more patient came to see Ivanna — an elderly man. While she was extracting his tooth, one of the roots slipped into the maxillary sinus. Performing an X-ray under those conditions was impossible. Ivanna decided to carry out a maxillary sinusotomy — a surgical procedure in which the sinus is opened and cleared — as she could not leave the patient without care.

“The siren is wailing — it all feels surreal. The drivers had already packed everything, we were being told to leave the hospital, and I managed to perform this procedure for the first time in my life. In private clinics, we don’t often do this,” Ivanna recalls.

A few weeks later, the medical team returned. The same elderly man was the first to greet them — he was doing well.

Ivanna continues to take part in the missions, describing her motivation simply: “I keep doing this because it’s what I do best — and it’s truly needed.”

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with Ivanna in Kyiv or online.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions involve regular deployments of teams of doctors to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists from various fields, including neurology, surgery, gynecology, internal medicine, and dermatology. During these visits, local residents receive free consultations, examinations, and tests. The team has also recently introduced cancer screening services.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv

Olha Shchedrina lived in Ireland until 2024, where she worked as an assistant to the Ambassador of Ukraine. After the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, the embassy faced an increased workload, as many Irish citizens reached out to support Ukrainians.

Soon, Olha began traveling to Ukraine on short missions, delivering humanitarian aid while also training in tactical medicine. In late 2023, she decided to stay in Ukraine permanently and later joined the medical battalion Hospitallers.

She now evacuates wounded soldiers to stabilization points and provides medical assistance. Between rotations, Olha travels abroad to speak with international audiences about the war in Ukraine.

Journalists can arrange an online interview with Olha Shchedrina upon prior agreement and coordination with a press officer.

Background: The Hospitallers Medical Battalion has been operating on the front line since 2014. Its crews carry out dozens of evacuations daily along much of the front line. The Hospitallers have been providing tactical medicine training since 2015 and first aid training since 2018.

• doctors
• military
• women

On April 4–5, FRIDA Ukraine missions will travel to provide medical assistance to civilians in Zaporizhzhia and Chernihiv regions.

In addition, on April 4–5, doctors will conduct cancer screenings in Kyiv.

By prior arrangement, journalists will have the opportunity to cover the work of medical volunteers, as well as to interview patients and doctors.

Background: The “FRIDA Ukraine” medical volunteer missions are регуляр outreach trips by teams of doctors to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists from various fields, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, dermatologists, and others. During these visits, local residents receive free consultations, check-ups, and medical tests. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings.

• doctors
• volunteers

Oleh Bykov is a volunteer and activist from Kremenchuk in Ukraine’s Poltava region. Since the start of russia’s full-scale invasion, he and his team have been working to find ways  to make it easier for medics to deal with shell fragments left in the bodies of wounded soldiers.

The team has developed a series of magnetic devices named “Edelweiss,” “White Angel,” “Prometheus,” “Hydra,” and “Bucephalus.” These devices help doctors detect metal fragments in wounded patients and safely extract them.

A new device, “Sherlock,” is expected to join this lineup soon, once volunteers receive final feedback from medical professionals who are already awaiting its deployment. In particular, surgeons at the Shalimov National Institute of Surgery and Transplantology and the Amosov National Institute of Cardiovascular Surgery are preparing to use the device. Doctors at these institutions already rely on earlier inventions created by the team.

Over the past four years, Oleh Bykov and his team have produced and delivered more than 4,000 devices to medical professionals free of charge. The team is also developing another type of magnetic extractor called “Lilith.”

Journalists can arrange interviews with Oleh Bykov both online and offline in Kyiv by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• volunteers
• Kyiv

In 2023, the UNBROKEN Centre, together with the UNBROKEN Charitable Foundation and L’Oréal Ukraine, launched the joint social project “(Not) Up For Beauty.” Its goal is to help women affected by russian aggression overcome the physical effects of war, restore their appearance, and regain self-confidence.

What support do participants receive within the project?

– Consultations with qualified specialists in plastic surgery, aesthetic medicine, and other medical professionals if needed;

– Individual treatment plans depending on the consequences of injuries, including surgeries, cosmetic procedures, and CO₂ laser scar resurfacing;

– Sessions of body-oriented psychotherapy and counseling.

Over more than two years since its launch, 61 women have received assistance. All services within the project are provided free of charge.

By prior arrangement, journalists can speak with the project’s specialists and, where appropriate, with participants.

• casualties
• doctors
• women

On March 26, volunteer doctors from FRIDA Ukraine will travel on a mission to a children’s home in the Kyiv region. The team includes around 20 medical professionals, including a pediatrician, neurologist, psychologist, urologist, and surgeon. The doctors regularly visit the facility and provide medical care to children.

On March 28–29, FRIDA Ukraine teams will travel to the Sumy and Kherson regions to deliver medical assistance to civilians.

By prior arrangement, journalists can cover the work of medical volunteers and conduct interviews with patients and doctors.

Background: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions are regular deployments of teams of doctors to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission includes more than 20 specialists from various fields, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, therapists, dermatologists, and others. During these visits, free medical consultations, check-ups, and tests are provided to local residents. The team has also recently introduced cancer screening services.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Kherson
• Kyiv
• Sumy

From March 22 to 28, Ukraine will host the sixth Face to Face humanitarian mission. A team of American reconstructive facial surgeons will work in Lviv for a week.

Doctors will provide assistance to patients with facial nerve palsy, bone loss in the face, eyelid and orbital injuries, and soft tissue deformities. Both military personnel and civilians injured as a result of the war can apply, and all surgeries will be provided free of charge.

Journalists can arrange interviews with the medical team both online and in person in Lviv, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

On March 21–22, groups of FRIDA Ukraine volunteer doctors will travel on missions to provide medical assistance to civilians in frontline areas. They are heading to Mykolaiv Oblast.

By prior arrangement, journalists may cover the work of the medical volunteers and interview patients and doctors.

For reference: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions consist of regular trips by a team of doctors to frontline and remote communities in Ukraine. Each mission includes over 20 specialists in various fields: neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, internists, dermatologists, and others. During these trips, free appointments, consultations, and tests are provided for local residents. Recently, the team has also begun conducting cancer screenings—early diagnosis of oncological diseases—to help detect illnesses in their initial stages.

• doctors
• volunteers
• Mykolaiv