HJNO Jul/Aug 2022

HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF NEW ORLEANS  I  JUL / AUG 2022 51 MarkAlain Déry, DO, MPH, FACOI Chief Innovation Officer Access Health Louisiana Evacuation The military manages trauma transport out of the front line (of conflict) and brings the patient to the closest hospital out of range of active conflict. Here, patients are gathered and transported to another hos- pital, either in or out of the country, de- pending on circumstances. Our role with SFI is to meet those pa- tients in safe zones and transport them to more stable medical care elsewhere. The transport team always comprises a phy- sician, a nurse, and a driver. We drove the ERA ambulances from Albania to Ukraine. These are state-of-the-art ambulances using Bluetooth technologies that allow data from the ventilator to correspond with data from the heart monitor, simpli- fying the analysis of complex data onto a straightforward screen — not unlike what one sees in a modern ICU. Education We are approaching education three- fold: healthcare workers, fire and police, and laypeople. World Population Review ranks the Ukrainian healthcare system81st out of 180 ranked countries; by compari- son, the U.S. ranked number 30. Within this context, SFI proposed to the deputy minister of health an online ed- ucation program for healthcare workers (physicians, nurses, medical and nursing students) on the acute prehospital man- agement of civilians affected by war. The unfortunate reality of this conflict is the intentional targeting of civilians in areas of the country where there is little to no active conflict. There are random shellings and missile attacks that make disseminat- ing this information to healthcare workers essential — especially healthcare workers who have little or no experience in the pre- hospital management of civilian trauma care. The second component of our educa- tion program is the direct teaching of ba- sic life support services to the Ukrainian fire and police forces. Unlike in the U.S., Ukrainian fire and police services do not have basic life support or emergency med- ical services training. To fill this vacuum, SFI has been running one-day trainings with fire and police services that request our services. These trainings include basic life support didactic instruction followed by hands-on training with state-of-the-art mannequins that correctly measure the depth of pressure with CPR, giving the stu- dent the knowledge of the exact amount of pressure to deliver when performing CPR. Supplication We are constantly fundraising and look- ing for ways to expand our services and operations. There are many charitable or- ganizations that we meet with regularly, including hospitals, clinics, and orphanag- es. Everyone needs resources; every group needs things, and everybody has an ask from us. As we fundraise, we try to keep in mind the needs of those on the ground, providing all the other essential services necessary to help reduce the inevitable suffering during the war. The Ukrainians are fighting for their freedom to remain an independent and sovereign nation; as a country that prides itself on independence and sovereignty, I hope we will follow the clarion call said by all Ukrainians since the war started: Slava Ukraini! (Glory to Ukraine!) n AS with most wars, the Ukraine conflict disproportionately affects innocent civil- ians. The World Food Program estimates that over one in three Ukrainians is food insecure. Unsurprisingly, those most im- pacted were families that were separat- ed or displaced. The ongoing conflict has hurt health infrastructure, with some 300 facilities in areas of active hostilities. The World Health Organization estimates that 50% of pharmacies are closed, and many healthcare workers cannot work because of displacement. Within this context, I arrived in Ukraine in the second week of May 2022. My col- league and long-time friend, Christian Vögeli, CEO and founder of the Swiss Foundation for Innovation (SFI), has op- erated a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the Balkans for over 25 years, providing critical care services and trans- port. Within the first two weeks of the war, SFImoved its base of operations toUkraine and provided critical care services. Established in Switzerland, SFI has a major base of operations in Tirana, Al- bania. In the Balkans, the State manages emergency medical services operations; hospitals or municipalities do not manage them. With poor infrastructure and up- keep of vehicles, there are more fatalities due to motor vehicle accidents in the Bal- kans when compared to the rest of the E.U. (77-96/1,000,000 versus 49/1,000,000). By comparison, in the U.S., this number is below 10/1,000,000. In Ukraine, SFI has established a three- pronged strategy for the successful deliv- ery of aid to the Ukrainian people; evacua- tion, education, and supplication.