A new Center for rendering help to the newborns is opened under the auspices of the “Cradles of Hope” program

May 22 in Chernivtsi on a new neonatal intensive care centre was opened on the basis of the Chernivtsi regional clinical hospital №1 under the auspices of the "Cradles of Hope". This is a seventh center opened since the program was launched in 2006 by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation. Earlier centers were open Chernihiv, Volodymyrets, Poltava, Dniepropetrovsk, Kyiv and Ovruch.

According to information of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine Chernivtsi region has the worst infant mortality rates, which are twice as high as those in the rest of Ukraine. Chernivtsi regional clinical hospital №1 discharges the main load of helping the newborns and hence faces the main difficulties.

Roman Andriychuk, the chief physician of Chernivtsi Regional Children's Clinical Hospital No. 1. noted that "rendering medical care for the newborns, the most complicated category of patients, requires both special equipment and professional personnel. We hope that by the end of this year our region will manage to come out of such a critical situation" and expressed a hope that by the end of the year the region is no more in such situation. By the words of the Yelizaveta Shunko, Chief Neonatal Physician of the Ministry of Health Care of Ukraine "the new center in Chernivtsi City will help reduce infant mortality rate and improve life standards of those who was saved".

One of the Foundation's objectives, is assisting the state in transition to the standard of the World Health Organization, which stipulates that all infants from 22 weeks of age and 500 grams of weight should receive medical help. Program specifies a number of steps among which equipping the partnering medical facilities, holding training and seminars for the Centers' personnel, securing the internet-enabled communication between Centers.

Preliminary review of the program's results: 11 390 infants received a medical care (461 of which were saved owing to the equipment provided within the framework of the "Cradles of hope" program). Year-2006 Program's budget was UAH 2 525 000.

Larissa Polyakova, the Foundation's Vice-President, announced that in 2007 the Program's geography is extended through including Odessa, Izmail, Symferopol, Bahchisarai, Donetsk. Also, the cooperation with partnering medical institutions started in 2006 will be further continued. For these purposes the Foundation has allocates UAH 9 595 000 for the year 2007

"A year ago we opened the first neonatal intensive care centre in Chernihiv City and declared that we were going to open such centers all over Ukraine. It was a pilot project. Today we have opened the seventh center and we are getting more and more serious about it, as a large-scale program aimed at reducing child death rate in Ukraine. I am sure that this is a very important social project and we are planning to expand further investment capacity for its implementation", Victor Pinchuk said.

Learn more at www.pinchukfund.org/kolibeli 

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