Themes by tag: doctors

Olena Yuzvak found herself under the occupation immediately after the beginning of the big war. Hostomel, a town in Kyiv region, where a doctor was staying, was captured by the russians. Olena stayed there to continue working and helping people who could not leave. Olena distributed medicine and cared for the wounded until the occupiers captured her. The doctor was released a day later, and 10 days later, the Ukrainian military liberated Hostomel. Olena immediately returned to work and began working to restore the medical institutions she managed. One of these facilities is located in Moshchun village, Kyiv region, which was destroyed by a direct hit in the shelling. With the support of international funds, Olena managed to build a new Health Center and turn it into an energy-independent Invincibility Center. The Health Center in Moshchun has been successfully operating since its opening. Currently, the doctor continues to work on the restoration and opening of modern medical facilities.

For reference: on April 2, 2022, Kyiv region was completely liberated from russian occupation. By April 6, 2022, the Defense Forces fully liberated Chernihiv region. On April 11, 2022, the then Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valerii Zaluzhnyi announced that full control over the state border in Sumy region was restored.

• casualties
• doctors
• occupation
• prisoners
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

The proximity to the front line does not matter for FRIDA medical volunteer mission, especially when the residents of the communities themselves are asking for doctors to come.

In the near future, a team of 9 doctors will consult patients in Donetsk region (journalists can learn more details about the settlements in question).

The team of doctors was formed in response to the requests of local residents: people need consultations by a cardiologist, a surgeon, an ultrasound technician, a gastroenterologist, a neurologist, an otolaryngologist and an ophthalmologist.

Journalists are invited to join the mission to see and film the work of doctors in difficult conditions, talk to local residents and cover the life in frontline communities

It is also possible to receive photo and video materials after the mission’s return as well as to interview doctors.

For reference: For the second year in a row, FRIDA Ukraine, the largest medical volunteer mission in Ukraine, continues with its trips to the frontline and de-occupied regions to deploy field clinics and provide specialized medical assistance on sites.

• casualties
• doctors

“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” will open in Lviv on March 7. This is an initiative of the Alliance for Public Health in cooperation with the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center.

“HAB | Lviv Habilitation Center” is a transitional barrier-free space that provides an opportunity to safely relive the experience of war in order to move on. Veterans and civilians who have already undergone physical rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN Center and need to adapt to new living conditions will acquire new skills here.

The area of the habilitation center is 660 square meters. It has 9 rooms and 27 beds. 300 patients are to undergo habilitation there per year.

The first patients of the center were:

• Yana Kovaliova, a librarian from Avdiivka, received an injury in the hostilities, which led to the amputation of her right leg. She underwent treatment and rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center. She is adapting to everyday life in the Lviv Habilitation Center.
• Illia Dmytryshyn, a soldier of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, was wounded while defending Ukraine. He underwent treatment and rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN center. He is focusing on adapting to the status of a veteran and a person with a disability. At Lviv Habilitation Center, Illia is working on his psycho-emotional state and on planning for the future.

During the opening, there will be an opportunity to chat with patients and specialists, as well as join a kintsugi master class to learn the art of imperfection. Patients and guests will glue broken dishes, which is a symbol that after setbacks and trials, one can become even stronger with the right support. 

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

Serhii Shpanko is 46 years old. The man joined the ranks of the Defense Forces back in 2014, when russia first attacked Ukraine. Since then, Serhii served in many positions in the army, until he was discharged and became a teacher at the Military Institute of Telecommunications and Information Technology. On February 24, 2022, Serhii was in the capital, and together with the cadets he organized the evacuation of the population from Kyiv region, in particular, Bucha and Irpin. At the end of March of the same year, Serhii returned to the Armed Forces, less than a month later, he found himself in the Avdiivka sector. During one of the missions, his car came under enemy fire. Serhii’s next memory after being wounded is the hospital. The soldier received numerous facial injuries, his facial nerve was severed, his ear was torn off and his eye was damaged. Serhii has undergone many surgeries. A team of reconstructive surgeons from Canada, the U.S. and Ukraine decided to restore the functions and symmetry of his face as part of the “Face the Future” international mission. Nowadays Serhii can smile and close his eyelid. The man returned to the Institute, and now teaches cadets to use small arms.

For reference: “Face the future Ukraine” is a mission of Canadian and American reconstructive surgeons, which brings together world experts and their Ukrainian counterparts to restore physical health and aesthetic beauty of people injured in enemy shelling. They also work with servicemen who have suffered face and neck injuries on the front line.

• casualties
• doctors
• military

For the second year in a row, FRIDA Ukraine, the largest medical volunteer mission in Ukraine, continues to travel to the frontline and de-occupied regions to deploy field clinics and provide specialized medical assistance on the ground.

Thus, a team of 30 doctors will work in Donetsk region. The team will consist of a surgeon, a physiotherapist, a cardiologist, a therapist, an ENT specialist, a neurologist and other specialists. The mission doctors plan to provide more than 1,500 services (ultrasound, ECG, consultations, field surgeries, etc.).

Also, medical volunteers go to orphanages in different parts of the country. For example, a team of specialists will work in the Zhytomyr regional specialized children’s home, where about 50 children need medical examination. The team consists of 18 doctors, including: a pediatrician, an ultrasound specialist, an ENT specialist, a neurologist, a psychiatrist, a surgeon and an ophthalmologist.

Journalists have the opportunity to join field missions.

• casualties
• doctors

The founder of Repower charitable foundation, Maryna Sadykova, was an event organizer before the full-scale invasion. After February 24, 2022, her team began to help the military. Due to active volunteer work, the woman began to feel psychological exhaustion and constant anxiety. So, she went to the Carpathians to recover. This experience prompted Maryna to start a program of psychological support: at first, she wanted to help military volunteers like her, but the financial resources of the foundation were limited. That’s why the team decided to focus on medics who save the lives of soldiers at the front, and the Repower project was founded in Kyiv to restore the mental health of Ukrainian combat medics. Maryna’s team created a sustainable program of psychological support – a 10-day retreat in Sweden. Together with medics, Ukrainian psychologists go abroad as well. The 10-day program consists of psychological exercises, individual sessions, group meetings, art therapy, music therapy, etc. As of now, the charitable foundation has managed to organize 3 trips for 300 participants.

• doctors
• psychological support
• volunteers
• women

When Mykola Iliichuk found himself face to face with the harsh reality of a full-scale enemy invasion during his fifth year at Bukovinian State Medical University, he didn’t hesitate to answer the call to arms. Offered a chance to join the Donbas battalion, he dove headfirst into the fray, defending Ukraine’s eastern frontier. Despite being thrust into the role of a mortar operator, Mykola remained true to his roots in medicine. Armed with essential supplies, he stood ready to provide critical first aid to his fellow soldiers at a moment’s notice.

Today, Mykola serves as a combat medic within the prominent Ukrainian army unit Da Vinci Wolves Battalion, all while continuing his studies remotely. Despite the challenges of war, he remains determined to expand his medical expertise. While primarily focused on intensive care skills on the frontline, his ultimate aspiration is to perform surgery. Whenever possible, he eagerly assists in operating rooms, where he works tirelessly to save the lives of his comrades.

For reference: Mykola Iliichuk is currently stationed in Lviv and welcomes interviews with journalists, both in-person and online, with prior arrangement.

• doctors
• military
• Lviv

On February 10, Lviv will host a charity sports event for lower limb amputees. The event aiming to test patients’ running specific prostheses feet is organized by the Superhumans Prosthetics and Rehabilitation Center. The prosthetic feet functional testing will be run as a comparative evaluation involving not only patients but also specialists from various rehabilitation centers and media representatives. The competitors will play soccer, basketball, and volleyball together having their running prostheses on. 

In addition, Superhumans will attract several prosthetists (physical therapists) from other rehabilitation centers to engage in teaching patients using prosthetics how to fit and operate running prostheses.

• casualties
• doctors
• Lviv

Iryna Kulbach has been the chair of the University Hospital Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Dnipro for 23 years. At the beginning of the all-out invasion, the doctors there had to deliver babies in a shelter.

On December 29, 2023, a Russian missile struck the maternity ward. A fire broke out there, and the blast wave smashed about 900 windows in the hospital. That day, Iryna and other doctors were on duty. The team responded quickly to the situation: women in labor with newborns, pregnant women, and the patients’ families were moved to shelters in advance. As a result of the attack, the maternity hospital building caught fire producing smoke, so Iryna and other specialists evacuated all the people to save their lives.

Recently, the President of Ukraine awarded Iryna Kulbach with the Honored Doctor of Ukraine award. In addition, she received the medal “For Merit to the City”.

For reference: The damage caused by the enemy shelling is still being assessed. 30 employees of the maternity ward were transferred to other departments of the hospital, and 20 are currently unemployed.

For reference: February 24, 2024, Ukraine marks 2 years since Russia commenced its unprovoked criminal full-scale invasion. This attack was the culmination of the initial war of aggression that Russia has been waging against Ukraine for 10 years. This armed conflict was ignited on February 20, 2014. Back then, Russians invaded the territory of Ukrainian Crimea giving no obvious sign of its covert military operation in the now-occupied peninsula. After that, Russia started a war in Ukraine’s east.

• children
• doctors
• russian crimes
• women
• Dnipro

With the onset of the full-blown war, Ihor Kazio, a dentist with 15 years of experience, decided to stay in the capital and help the citizens. Ihor, his father, and brother, who belong to the same profession, provided free-of-charge services when the Russian military convoy closed in on the capital and most medical facilities in Kyiv were closed.

After the invaders were driven out of the Kyiv region, Ihor started looking for ways to help the military who could not leave the front line to see a dentist. This is how the Kazo Mobile Dental project—mobile dentistry in a mobile setting that helps soldiers near the front line, was born. A team of doctors ready to work in the frontline regions was assembled quite quickly: specialists from different cities responded to the call. Each of their trips lasts at least two weeks. Kazo Mobile Dental has already made three visits to the frontline regions and performed dental treatment for more than a thousand soldiers. Now the team is preparing for their next trip, which will take place on February 8.

For reference: Kazo Mobile Dental is ready to communicate with journalists, both online and offline, by prior arrangement.

• doctors
• military
• volunteers