New Delhi, September 19, 2023: Ahead of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited Northwell Health’s Staten Island University Hospital (SIUH) to recognize the health system’s ongoing efforts to support medical providers in Ukraine. He also met with wounded Ukrainian soldiers who received advanced prosthetics and critical rehabilitation after sustaining devastating injuries in the Russian invasion.
President Zelenskyy presented Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, with the Order of Merit (Ukraine), a special distinction awarded to individuals for outstanding achievements to honor his exceptional leadership in providing vital medical care to Ukraine. SIUH team members Eugene Holuka, MD, vice president of physician development, and outreach, and Rebecca Gonzalez and Peter Leone – both senior physical therapists – also received the order for their unwavering efforts in helping wounded Ukrainian soldiers.
“Thank you very much to everybody, to our soldiers and their relatives. I see some of them sitting here with their wives, sisters, and mothers. Thank you to the staff and doctors who gave them the possibility for one dream: to live and to come back to us – home. Thank you very much for your support,” said President Zelenskyy.
“It’s our privilege to help in any way we possibly can. What you’re doing, Mr. President is absolutely extraordinary. What happens in Ukraine, is important to all of us. This is not an issue for just over there, it’s an issue that affects us here. And as you said on television last night, this is a protection of democracy and a western way of life, so we thank you for everything you’re doing,” said Dowling.
In March of 2023, Kind Deeds, a non-profit that facilitates treatment for wounded Ukrainian soldiers, put out a request in Staten Island looking for assistance with injured Ukrainian Soldiers who were brought to America seeking medical attention. Without hesitation, Staten Island University Hospital promptly came forward to offer assistance.
The heroic soldiers, who were subsequently brought to the hospital, had suffered severe injuries to their lower extremities as they fearlessly fought on the frontlines and had undergone amputations.
After being fitted with state-of-the-art prosthetics, each soldier was determined to return to the battlefront. The rehab team took this into consideration and designed a rehab program that would train them to navigate through rough terrains while carrying heavy weights to signify machinery.
Solidarity with Ukraine – where it all began
When Russian forces targeted hospitals, clinics, maternity wards and other health care facilities, the pressure upon the frontline medical staff in Ukraine was unrelenting. Since the beginning of the conflict, approximately 200 medical facilities in Ukraine have been attacked, leaving the country struggling to care for wounded soldiers, as well as civilians, and impacting the heath needs of the nation, as a whole. Northwell Health immediately set up the Ukraine Relief Fund to enable contributions to support Ukrainian relief efforts.
“It is important for us to do something and to do the most we possibly can,” explained Dowling. “There are families in Ukraine suffering terribly at the moment, and they need all the help that we can provide.”
Northwell’s global response
At the start of the war, working with its Center for Global Health (CGH), Northwell prepared more than 28 pallets, holding 18,000 pounds of life-saving medical supplies – thoracic tubes, blood-clotting agents, pediatric provisions, and more. These resources were received by the Ukrainian frontline in just three days.
Two months later, Northwell launched its robust telemedicine platform to assist Ukraine’s frontline medical providers. The platform began as virtual consults in refugee camps in Poland and expanded into a countrywide telemedicine support system offering critical care in the combat zone.
In late April of 2022, Northwell deployed a 24/7 telemedicine consultation and support service and reached out to Northwell staff for volunteers. More than 50 motivated and passionate clinicians offered their services in over 50 subspecialties.
“Over the course of the war, there’s been an outpouring of support and relief from Northwell providers with a desire to help,” saidEric Cioè-Peña, MD, Founding Director, Center for Global Health, Northwell Health. “The Northwell Transfer Center, allowed physicians in Ukraine to access the same world-renowned specialists that we offer to patients in the New York region.”
From charity to change
From supplies and equipment to funds and charitable care, Northwell Health has donated more than $1.5 million to the fight in Ukraine.
In collaboration with the Ukraine Cross-Border Medical Operations Consortium (UCMOC) and The Institute for Emergency Medicine (IEM), Northwell has procured more than $96,000 worth of medical equipment, including items such as:
- A portable X-ray machine worth $17,500 for a hospital that performs secondary surgeries;
- Approximately $15,000-worth of surgical tools and ultrasound devices;
- A $10,000 ambulance and another $10,000 worth of supplies for a hospital lacking essential medical equipment.
In addition, Northwell built an operating room in a hospital in Uzhhorod, a city in western Ukraine, to treat soldiers and civilians.
With a major contribution from the Mack Family Foundation – Sondra and David Mack, long-time supporters of the hospital’s Center for Emergency Medical Services – Northwell’s CGH is currently arranging for the donation of up to twelve ambulances with the non-profit Ukraine Focus.
Ukraine Focus works to provide humanitarian and medical aid to Ukraine using a needs-based, fully transparent approach ensuring the help gets directly to those that need it most.
Corporate Comm India (CCI Newswire)
