The Ukrainian visitors are touring local hospitals, colleges, the state health department and discussing how to deliver the best care and learn from American services. The will also meet with Capital Region lawmakers throughout the week.
Father Mikhail Myschchuk of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Watervliet was at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy to greet the visitors Monday.
“It seems like many doctors are the frontline or very close to the frontline of the war and we as a church helping with the medical equipment and all kinds of medical things. So I hope to get to know them see what their needs are and hopefully maybe (help them with their needs) over there in Ukraine.”
Oleksandr Sahaidak is from Lviv and runs a hospital emergency department. He says the lives of all Ukrainians changed when Russia invaded.
“We have a warring country. This war just started … the war just started on 22 of February, when the Russia attacked our territory. This war now has actually not stopped. We are in the process and we just used a lot of weapons from the U.S. also and we just use the resources from opportunity and the helping around the world … We have a war time inside the country. It's called the war time, right? And it's so bad in my mind. It's terrible.”
According to the United Nations, more than 13 million Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes since February, creating Europe’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. Exact casualty figures are hard to come by, since each country is reluctant to admit losses, but the United Nations human rights office in late August documented nearly 5,600 civilians killed in Ukraine, though the actual toll is thought to be much higher.
Sahaidak says he looks forward to learning more about emergency services and care in the U.S., which he thinks has more advanced emergency care.
“We already have good training from Ukraine, but maybe the U.S. has more experience in that and they can share with us the new ideas and the new training that we can use in Ukraine.”
The visit was coordinated by the International Center of the Capital Region. Executive Director Jennifer Zhao detailed some of the events planned this week.
“We're trying to get them to as many people as we can. They're meeting with St. Peter's (Hospital), Albany Med(ical Center) and Ellis (Hospital) and seeing how the different hospitals work. They're going to be touring their emergency departments. They are really focused on the emergency medicine as of right now. They're also going to be meeting with the faculty at Russell Sage, who will also show them their special of special mannequin thing - I don’t really know what it's called, I think they know what it is - but it's like a simulation for what how the patients will respond. So, we're hoping that they can see how that be beneficial for training extra staff because, as we said, they're also shorthanded, so if they can get more people online, trained and ready to go, then that's another area that we can help.”
She says doctors in Ukraine are overwhelmed responding to Russia’s attacks.
“They also were asking about sending doctors out into the field. Because, whenever there's a bombing or there's a trauma, then they have to actually leave the hospital to go to those places.”
While recent news reports detail a recent string of setbacks for Russia, Sahaidak says Ukrainians on the ground are not yet celebrating.
“Yeah, we feel the power of that and we made a new step in the war, but Russia has not stepped down. We attacked and we are just trying to keep our territory and we hope it will not be so long.”
Father Myschchuk says he has also heard cautious optimism from community members.
“The situation is tough. It's difficult. There is some hope, but we should understand that the Russia is not a country that will walk away. So, it's hope mixed with concerns.”
Zhao says no matter the outcome, she is glad the Ukrainian visitors get a break from the grinding war and experience the Capital Region.
“They're also all staying with individual home hosts. They're being hosted by volunteers in the Capital Region who are just very generous with opening their homes and hospitality. So, we're hoping that they take back the spiritual and mental support that they're getting from these volunteers and just a little bit of a break from the stressful life that they are working with in their country. So, we're really hoping that they can keep these connections intact when they go back and then have those great memories to look back to.”
