Krivy Rog City Hospital #8

City Hospital #8 is a large hospital that is located in the center of Krivy Rog, Ukraine. This hospital received items from three containers that were shipped into Kyiv, Ukraine and then transported to Krivy Rog and distributed in cooperation with those working with the children and needy citizens and the churches of Christ.

City Hospital #8 has fifteen different children’s clinics that offer medical care to the children of Krivy Rog’s one-million residents. The following health care centers are a part of the fifteen clinics that focus on the health care for children:

•  Emergency services
•  Pulmonary
•  Oncology Trauma
•  Cardiac
•  Emergency center for newborns
•  Poison center
•  HIV infectious
•  Neurology
•  HIV infectious
•  Allergies
•  Ophthalmology
•  Trauma
•  Infectious diseases

I met with Dr. Andre, the Head of the Emergency Department of the hospital. Dr. Andre spent time with us discussing the great needs that the health care for the children in City Hospital #8 have. He said that the greatest needs are monitors and respirators for children. He showed us several newborns in critical condition that had IV-lines connected to infusion pumps and said that the infusion pumps were truly life saving devices but they had only two that worked. He showed me two respirators that were not working and from just looking at these it could be seen they were very old. Dr. Andre said they had asked for the city budget to include finances to help purchase essential supplies and equipment but the city said there were no funds possible. So the hospital will have to continue functioning on what supplies it has on hand or what supplies are received through shipments such as we sent.

As we walked through the critical care unit of the children’s hospital, Dr. Andre pointed out the different items that our container had brought for the hospital. There were two incubators and one had a one-month-old critical baby boy that was born with hepatitis, numerous respiratory difficulties, and many other problems. The doctor said that without the incubator that we sent the baby would have died.

We saw manual hospital beds that had been provided by our shipment. Dr. Andre said that because of those beds they were able to care for children. He said that if we had not provided the beds, those children would have received no help. There were also a number of bedside tables and other chests that had been brought by our containers that were being used in the emergency room.

Following the tour we returned to his office and Dr. Andre turned to me and asked, “Can you please tell me how real is this help?” He asked because he  has been promised so many times that help would come and supplies would be sent and his hopes and those of the staff rose only to be shattered. In a desperate predicament, his hopes have become dulled. As he asked I could hear the tone of desperation from one that recognizes his duty and heavily feels his responsibility but can find no avenue to hope that things will be helped.

(Left to right) John L, Kachelman, Jr., Dr. Andre (chief of the Children’s Emergency Clinic), and Tanya Zozulina (John’s interpreter)

This one-month old baby was able to live because of this incubator we shipped to Krivy Rog.

Cabinets brought to the Children’s Hospital by our containers in the fall of 2007.