CCRF shipments aid regional children's hospitals in Ukraine (05/04/97)

CCRF shipments aid regional children's hospitals in Ukraine

SHORT HILLS, N. J. - Regional children's hospitals in several Ukrainian cities recently received large shipments of medical supplies and technology from the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund (CCRF). The combined shipments, valued at $1.7 million, arrived in Chernihiv and Dnipropetrovsk on March 13, following an airlift from Newark International Airport.

The largest shipment was assigned to Dnipropetrovsk Children's Hospital No. 3, which provides emergency treatment and intensive care for newborns from across Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Two tractor-trailers packed with state-of-the-art neonatal equipment were unloaded on March 14 under the supervision of local doctors, servicemen from the Ukrainian Army and CCRF staff.

The delivery was documented by local news media as well as American broadcast journalist Volodymyr Artymyshyn, who filmed the process for the TV program"Kontakt."

On the evening prior to the delivery, hospital officials and a local children's folk ensemble, Svitanok, greeted an official delegation representing the CCRF and the Monsanto Co., which had financed the purchase of advanced technology for Dnipropetrovsk.

The shipment belongs to the first phase of the CCRF's Women's and Children's Health Initiative, a program that was made possible by a $263,000 grant from Monsanto. The program is designed to stem the high rate of infant mortality that has plagued Ukraine since the late 1980s.

This year, Monsanto is providing additional funding for physicians' training and follow-up support for Dnipropetrovsk where the company has made substantial investments in revitalizing the region's agricultural sector. Similar efforts are planned for Luhansk and Vinnytsia.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Dr. Alexander Buyalsky, chief of the Neonatal Department said, "This shipment exceeds our most optimistic dreams! "These machines are a Godsend for us." For years, the hospital has had to rely on outdated Soviet equipment to combat life-threatening complication that afflict newborns. Thanks to the CCRF and Monsanto, the hospital's neonatal unit is being upgraded with new intensive care respirators, ventilators, incubators, cardiac monitors and other technology that Western hospitals take for granted.

Following extensive screening by CCRF advisers, Hospital No. 3 was chosen for a long-term partnership because of its dedicated staff and its reputation as one of the most progressive and innovative medical centers in central Ukraine. In April, three neonatal specialists from the hospital will participate in an intensive training program at the St. Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston, N. J. whose neonatal and obstetrics/gynecology departments are rated among the best in the United States.

In Chernihiv, the CCRF delivered more than $100,000 worth of priority equipment to the Regional Children's Hospital that serves this city of 300,000 northeast of Kyiv. Most of these supplies were secured with funds raised by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A. during last year's campaign to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster.

These included two high-quality intensive care incubators and a $30,000 anesthesia machine produced by the Ohmeda corporation of England; Siemens ventilators, an Infant Star respirator and a transport incubator needed to transport emergency cases from rural maternity clinics to regional hospitals.

Chernihiv's hospital director, Dr. Alexander Kareta, especially thanked Archbishop Antony and his staff at the Consistory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in South Bound Brook, N.J., for their initiative in organizing the joint campaign with the CCRF.

He also reserved special praise for the parish of St. Volodymyr Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral in Parma, Ohio, which donated $20,000 for the purchase of the Ohmeda incubators. Dr. Kareta's remarks were broadcast by regional television and radio journalists who visited the site and examined the newly donated technology.

During a briefing with CCRF staffers, Dr. Kareta and the department heads of the Chernihiv hospital stressed their concern over the growing number of birth defects and complications they have witnessed since the Chornobyl accident. In recent years, the doctors have discovered cancer in very young children near the exploded reactor. Malignant tumors, diabetes and other severe anomalies have been found even in newborn infants.

Chernihiv was one of the regions hardest hit by Chornobyl's fallout. Doctors attribute much of the decline in children's health to various forms of radiation exposure.

On a more hopeful note, CCRF representatives were introduced to several mothers and infants who had survived difficult deliveries thanks to technology previously installed by the CCRF.

A few days later, CCRF staff toured a children's hospital in Lviv (the former "Okhmadet"), which became one of the CCRF's partner hospitals in 1995. Thanks to a major fund-raising drive launched by Volodymyr and Oksana Bakum in the Poughkeepsie/Kerhonkson area of New York state, the CCRF was able to supply this hospital with critical care equipment and surgical supplies. During a press conference, CCRF President Dr. Zenon Matkiwsky attributed much of this success to pediatric surgeon Dr. Roman Kovalsky, who received training in the U.S. under the auspices of the CCRF.

Despite these successes on the local level, Ukrainian health officials continue to express concern over the skyrocketing infant mortality rate across Ukraine. The Kyiv Post reported in March that at 14.7 per thousand, Ukraine's infant mortality rate is one of the highest in the world. CCRF experts believe the officially quoted statistics may underestimate the actual levels by as much as one-third. (Many hospital administrators fear sanctions or cut-offs in government funding if their reported mortality rate increases.) The birth rate has plummeted by 28 percent since 1989, according to the Ministry of Statistics. Nearly 40 percent of Ukrainian women experience complications during pregnancy, according to a report presented to the 1995 International Women's Conference in Beijing.

In order to combat this problem, the CCRF and Monsanto are approaching other Western corporations and local entrepreneurs for support. The Ukrainian government has pledged its support for the CCRF initiative and the fund is currently developing community outreach and public education programs to complement the introduction of new technology and physician training.

Contributions may be sent to CCRF. Attn: Women's and Children's Health Initiative, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078. All donations are fully tax-deductible.

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