Doylestown Health Donating Medical Supplies To Ukraine

DOYLESTOWN, PA — When Doylestown Health staff learned of a Ukrainian hospital asking for donations of medical supplies, our local hospital started collecting new and gently-used medical supplies to help the people of Ukraine.

"There were so many supplies gathered — in the thousands — that when a truck was arranged to pick up the donations on Monday, another truck had to be ordered to gather the rest," according to a Tuesday news release. The supplies will fly directly to Lviv, Ukraine, on Wednesday.

“Everyone has been thinking about Ukraine non-stop,” says Christine Roussel, Senior Executive Director of Pharmacy, Laboratory and Medical Research. “All it took was for a list of supplies requested by a Ukrainian hospital for us to jump into action. Every department that was asked to support instantly did the needed work. So everything was ready to go within two days.”

Some of the thousands of medical supplies include:

• Defibrillators
• An electrocardiogram machine and electrodes
• Blood pressure cuffs
• Platelet incubator
• Hemostats
• Wound care supplies
• Scalpel blades
• Sterile gowns and hats
• Insulin syringes and safety needles
• Percutaneous Sheath Introducers (PSIs)

This collective donation effort was mobilized by staff in the Sterile Processing Department, Medical Research, and Pharmacy as well as Laboratory and Clinical Engineering departments.

Oleg Vinnikov, MD, a hospitalist at Doylestown Hospital who is originally from Moldova with close family in Ukraine, was contacted by a Ukrainian-American friend who was coordinating a similar effort through Germantown Academy and needed medical supplies.

Vinnikov immediately contacted Roussel and Scott Levy, MD, Chief Medical Officer, about the donation effort and they wanted to help in that effort as well.

“War is always bad,” Vinnikov said. “But I feel like what’s happening now in Ukraine is like it’s next door because we’re so connected through the internet and cell phones.”

He explained that some of his family members are living in bomb shelters and other family members were able to escape to Poland.

“It is hard to imagine people you grew up with hiding in bomb shelters, and streets you walked multiple times being in ruins,” he said.

Vinnikov was able to receive the donated medical supplies within a day after his request and they’re already headed to Ukraine.

Roussel said many more Doylestown Hospital associates have expressed wanting to help — next, hospital staff plan to gather and send more over-the-counter medications and wound care supplies to Ukraine.

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