UkraineAid helps hospital in Ivano-Frankivske

by T. St. George

WASHINGTON - When the voters of Ukraine chose independence for their country in the referendum held in December 1991, many observers felt that this would lead to an unprecedented cultural and economic renaissance. However, the experience of the last four years has told quite a different story, one of many hardships, especially economic difficulties.

No sector of Ukrainian life has escaped the harsh realities of post-Soviet independence, including health care A system already heavily burdened by the consequences of Chornobyl and decades of ecological devastation is now faced with a general collapse in trade and infrastructure, propped up in Soviet times only by the direct intervention of the state.

A number of Western aid organizations have reacted to this crisis in Ukraine's health care system, including UkraineAid, which is run by a Ukrainian American, Yarema Harabatch, from his home in the Washington suburbs. For the last four years he has been gathering funds to help hospitals in Ukraine get all sorts of needed medical equipment.

The generosity of the Ukrainian diaspora has paid off. Working with the Bavarian Red Cross, UkraineAid has managed to acquire and transport to Ukraine much-needed equipment, such as incubators, respirators, and blood testing and laboratory equipment.

One such hospital, which bas greatly benefited from the intervention of UkraineAid and the Bavarian Red Cross, is the Regional Children's Hospital of Ivano-Frankivske. According to the hospital's chief physician. Radyslav Koturbash, help from abroad has greatly improved conditions at the facility.

But much still needs to be done. There is the simple matter of rubber gloves, the kind that doctors in the West routinely throw away after one usage. At the Children's Hospital in Ivano-Frankivske, such gloves are carefully washed after each time and used again. There is also a shortage of medicines, even such basic items as aspirin.

Therefore, UkraineAid feels the doctors and hospitals of Ukraine still need help. This organization may well be unique in that it is staffed entirely by volunteers; no monies are used to pay staff. Overhead is low and the best price is always sought to maximize the benefits of donors' dollars to those in Ukraine. UkraineAid is a tax-exempt, non-profit organization registered in the state of Maryland. All contributions are fully tax-deductible.

Mr. Harabatch stresses that his organization is not the only one that helps medical professionals in Ukraine. "I don't mind," he said recently, "if people want to verify the situation in Ukraine for themselves. As a matter of fact, I can direct them to the Children's Hospital in Ivano-Frankivske, where Dr. Koturbash will be happy to receive them. What matters most to me," he added, "is that people should continue to help such good and deserving doctors as Radyslav Koturbash."

Donations may be sent to UkraineAid, 20515 Amethyst Lane, Germantown, MD 20874.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, January 7, 1996, No. 1, Vol. LXIV

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