Canadian Doctors Travel to Ukraine

Toronto/Ottawa (April 3,2014) - A group of volunteer Canadian medical professionals are travelling to Ukraine this week, to determine priorities for medical training, treatment and technology. This assessment will help determine the most efficient use of Canadian resources for aid and is co-sponsored by the Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) and the Canada-Ukraine Foundation (CUF).

“Since the violence started in Kyiv on the Maidan, more than 100 have been killed and 100's injured. An estimated 650 were hospitalized with many still requiring medical attention,” said Renata Roman, UCC Vice-President and Co-Chair of the UCC/CUF Medical Response Committee. “We are receiving ad-hoc information from people in Kyiv and felt it was critical to conduct such a mission to best assess the medical needs in Ukraine.”

“We are very fortunate to have a dedicated group of Canadian medical experts and knowledgeable volunteers who will make a significant difference in the lives of the most vulnerable in Ukraine,” said Eugene Melnyk, a member of the UCC /CUF Medical Response Committee. “This mission requires an assessment and evaluation of needs on the ground followed by an efficient transfer of medical knowledge to local health care professionals. I view this as an important step in Canada’s overall efforts to take a leadership role in providing a broad range of humanitarian support to the people of Ukraine. I will do whatever is possible to further these efforts.”

Patients remain untreated due to lack of facilities and medical expertise. This medical mission aims to leverage the knowledge of Canadian experts in order to determine the capacity and needs of medical facilities in addition to required training.

During the first phase of the mission, a team of Canadian medical professionals will undertake a needs assessment of patients and the facilities. Once this assessment is complete, the medical team will work with UCC/CUF to develop a plan for medical assistance to Ukraine. In the coming weeks and months, Canadian medical professionals will continue to return to Ukraine to assist in treatments and conduct further training, as needed.

The Phase I Assessment Team will travel from April 3 - April 14, 2014. They include, Krystina Waler - Coordinator and candidate, M.Sc. in Health Technology Assessment, University of Toronto; Dr. Oleh Antonyshyn - Head of Adult Craniofacial Program at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Dr. George Luczkiw - Emergency Medicine, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre; Dr. George Huculak - Family Medicine, and Andriy Pivtoran - Trained surgeon in Ukraine and Physiotherapist in Canada.

To learn how you can donate to this mission and to other important projects, please visit www.ucc.ca or www.cufoundation.ca