The association “Aktion Tschernobyl-Hilfe e.V.” from Hildesheim has been committed to helping people in Ukraine for many years, especially on a medical level. As part of this commitment, Esumedics GmbH supplied the association with an esumedics EEG system including an aEEG software add-on, video eeg and an extensive range of accessories. Then the association organized the transport and transferred the system to Ukraine on its own responsibility to equip a large children’s clinic in Lutsk (Volhynia). Esumedics GmbH is thus indirectly supporting efforts to improve medical care on site.
Adequate Treatment Through Medical Technology MADE IN GERMANY
The children’s hospital in Lutsk (Volhynia) is recognized nationwide and, thanks to the association “Aktion Tschernobyl-Hilfe e.V.“, has well-trained doctors who are committed to the country’s young patients. But war and economic crisis are causing problems. The everyday lives of patients and doctors are characterized by deprivation, suffering and inadequate care in all areas. Injured children and premature babies are brought to Lutsk every week. The association has, among other things, procured a special incubator with a suitable ventilator for transport. The esumedics EEG is also a valuable addition to the medical equipment on site. With the new EEG system, the pediatricians want to examine both the patients in the children’s hospital and the many newborns in the maternity clinic. Thanks to its intuitive and user-friendly software, the esumedics EEG simplifies the doctors’ work and helps them to make reliable diagnoses and identify neurological diseases or tumors. With the help of full HD video surveillance and the practical aEEG software add-on, suspicious EEG activities and epileptic seizures can now be reliably identified.
Chernobyl Disaster Still Felt Today
It is not only the war that injured many people. The consequences of the Chernobyl reactor accident in 1986 are still felt today. In the Volhynia region, for example, around 30 children fall ill with leukemia and other forms of cancer, such as brain tumors, every year. Neurological dysfunctions and infections such as meningitis are also a major issue. Since there is no health insurance in Ukraine and people’s financial resources have been even more limited since the war began, donations from abroad are urgently needed. Food, hygiene items, drinking water filters, medicines and medical equipment in particular are always needed. Aid organizations such as “Aktion Tschernobyl-Hilfe e.V.” provide voluntary support and regularly organize large truck transports to Ukraine.
Donations and Commitment From “Aktion Tschernobyl-Hilfe” Ensure Help for Children
Chairman Rita Limmoth and her team take many risks to alleviate the suffering in Ukraine. For example, the association was able to save the children’s hospital in the district capital Lutsk from closing over 20 years ago. At the time, the pediatricians had desperately asked for help because there were only empty operating rooms and treatment rooms with an old table and a kitchen chair. Since then, the association has also devoted itself to further training for pediatricians at German hospitals and the Hannover Medical School. The doctors were trained in the use of German standard equipment, which they were completely unfamiliar with. The equipment in the clinics was still many years behind EU standards. In addition, after the successful training of the doctors, “Aktion Tschernobyl Hilfe” was able to set up an operating room and treatment room in accordance with European standards for each department of the hospital in Lutsk. An intensive care unit for newborns and an intensive care unit for older children were also successfully set up.
Today, this facility for mothers and children also includes a children’s polyclinic, a maternity clinic and a children’s rehabilitation clinic on the outskirts of the city. Some time ago, the Ukrainian law was even changed, which stated that children could only receive free care in their home region, thus ensuring that seriously ill children from all over the country can benefit from the good medical equipment and expertise of the doctors in Lutsk free of charge. In 2021, the facility run by director Iryna Goravska received the “Best Medical Facility in Ukraine” award from Kyiv.