Medical care of Ukraine
Greg Klaus, an International Medical Corps volunteer, helps lead an emergency care course in Ukraine. (© Yelyzaveta Kalnybolotska/International Medical Corps)
Lily Manson, a 7-year-old Illinois girl, was watching TV news about Russia’s all-out invasion of Ukraine and wanted to help.
Her father, Chris Manson, told Voice of America that over dinner she asked, “Can we pray for the people of Ukraine?” They did more than just pray.
Manson acted. He has helped deliver 28 ambulances and a fire truck to Ukraine. He also organizes fundraisers to support the initiative.
People in the United States provide medical supplies or expertise to Ukraine.
Bruce Foulke, President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Heritage Credit Union in Philadelphia, has provided emergency medical care, including to Ukrainian refugees in Poland. He also raised $400,000 from credit union executives to purchase five ambulances and medical equipment for children’s hospitals in Ukraine.
Two ambulances were handed over to the Lviv City Children’s Clinical Hospital. Foulke said he felt an obligation as a “citizen of the world” to help.
Surgical Expertise
dr John Holcomb, a surgeon and US Army veteran, helped train local medics. He expressed his dismay at Russia’s attacks on health facilities.
“I think we all get a punch in the gut when we see that,” Holcomb said.
Holcomb volunteered with the Global Surgical and Medical Support Group, a US nonprofit organization with rotating teams of 10 to 20 civilian doctors, nurses, and medics. The organization has trained more than 20,000 medical workers in Ukraine.
Holcomb provided patient care and education at a civilian hospital in Lviv.
A psychiatric facility has opened in Lviv with support from the Arizae Foundation, the non-profit division of JustAnswer, a San Francisco-based tech company. The site provides treatment for military members and others who need help coping with trauma.
give hope
As a volunteer with the International Medical Corps, Greg Klaus from Connecticut helps train nurses in Ukraine in critical care medicine. Sometimes he taught in a hotel or online because of places being shelled.
“I was able to go in and out of this life very quickly,” he said. “These people live it every day.”
Yakov Gradinar, a Ukrainian-American, helps Ukrainians who have lost limbs. The Protez Foundation in Minnesota has provided prosthetic limbs to 22 Ukrainians as of December 2022. Patients, both military and civilian, travel to the facility where they are cared for and rehabilitated.
The foundation works with a manufacturer and local charities to help cover the costs. American volunteers make up half of the clinic staff.
“I’m always looking for opportunities like this so I can help people,” Gradinar told Voice of America.
