Press-releases
05.06.2008
The Victor Pinchuk Foundation set up a unique center for nursery care of infants in Zhytomyr
Within
the framework of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation program in public health domain
the 14th newborn care center "Cradles of Hope" was opened on June 3,
2008 on the basis of Zhytomyr regional center of mother and infant healthcare.
So far, the newborn care center
"Cradles of Hope" in Zhytomyr has been the only perinatal center, providing the
indispensable treatment to newborn infants in compliance with the highest
European standards. Part of the equipment, supplied by the Foundation to
Zhytomyr center, is really unique, having to date no analogues not only in
Ukraine, but also in the CIS countries. To equip the center in Zhytomyr the
Foundation allocated 1 million dollars.
The
initiation of the "Cradles of Hope" center in Zhytomyr will have a crucial
impact on the development of neonatology in the country. First of all, Ukraine
will get the first full-cycle perinatal center, serving as benchmark for
improving and complementing the perinatal units and services in other regions
of the country. It will implement the cutting-edge technologies and equipment
for nursery care of newborn infants, as well as conduct workshops, seminars and
professional training of neonatology physicians both from the "Cradle of Hope"
centers and other medical institutions of Ukraine.
Zhytomyr
regional center of mother and infant healthcare was intentionally chosen to
host an exemplary "Cradles of Hope" center. Its physicians are considered among
the best neonatology experts. The specialists of the center are high-qualified
professionals in the field of healthcare management. In 2008 Sergey Laponog,
Head of Neonatal intensive care unit, was acknowledged "Physician of the year"
for his efforts and accomplishments in managing extremely low birth weight
infants. Sergey Laponog nursed a newborn, weighing 490 grams, this being an
unprecedented case in Ukrainian medical practice. Yriy Viceberg, Head physician
of the center, is named Honored Physician of Ukraine.
According
to Yriy Viceberg, "Establishing the center will greatly improve
the quality of medical aid to parturient women in the region; it will also help
to solve the numerous problems of newborn infants management, which previously
appeared unsolvable. Our center is sure to provide a pattern for arranging
perinatal centers across other regions of Ukraine. Moreover, we are willing to
disseminate the techniques and experience obtained."
In
addition to the establishment of the new center, the "Cradles of Hope" program introduces a new focus area - creation of
a new reserve fund for the Italian preparation "Curesurf" used for stimulating
the lungs activity of premature infants. The fund will be established in the
maternity clinics, hosting the centers. The medicine significantly reduces
the probability of lethal outcomes (up to 90%), resulted from lung ventilation
problems in infants.
The
high cost of the preparation is the major obstacle to its wide use in perinatal
centers of Ukraine. That was mainly the reason why the Viktor Pinchuk
Foundation launched this project.
Opening
the center in Zhytomyr coincides with the second anniversary of the "Cradles of
Hope" project's launching. So far within its framework, 13 newborn care centers
have been established in Ukraine. "Cradles of Hope" centers are currently
functioning in Chernigiv, Volodymyrets, Lutsk, Poltava, Dnipropetrivsk, Kyiv,
Chernivtsi, Bakhtchysarai, Izmail, Odessa, Symferopil, Donetsk and Khmelnitsky.
The
"Cradles of Hope" project is one of the Victor Pinchuk Foundation programs in
the field of public health. Its strategic purpose is to contribute to survival
and health of every child born in Ukraine.
In
the context of the "Cradles of Hope" program it is intended to:
- organize a system of newborn care centers in Ukraine, equipped with cutting edge and high quality technologies, available on the international market to-day. In the long run, the project is supposed to be implemented throughout Ukraine;
- conduct adequate professional training for the personnel. The program provides for regular workshops, seminars, external conferences with leading specialists of Ukraine, as well as near and remote foreign countries;
- create a professional community, focusing on newborns management issues. All the centers are supplied with computer work-stations, giving access to the Internet, so that physicians from various regions could promptly consult each other via videoconferencing, exchange photos to make diagnosis at a distance. There is also a forum on the "Cradles of Hope" website to discuss urgent issues in neonatology and share professional experiences. Information concerning infants nursing technologies is also available on this website.
The
fundamental difference of the "Cradles of Hope" program is its strict
compliance with the high working standards, established at the centers, due to
the involvement of the leading specialists in the field and constant monitoring
of the participators' professional activities.
Since the beginning of the project
over 50 000 babies have been aided in the "Cradles of Hope" centers.
5 025 of the newborns have been treated in intensive care and
resuscitation units. 1394 infants survived because of the equipment, supplied under
the "Cradles of Hope" project.
In
2006-2007 the Victor Pinchuk Foundation allocated 2 400 000 dollars
US for this purpose.
The "Cradles of Hope" website:
http://pinchukfund.org/kolibeli/ru
