September 2011
Eastern European Outreach Clinic
Shriners Hospitals for Children®-Boston became well known to Ukraine in 2005 when a young girl named Nastya was severely burned in a house fire and traveled to Boston to be treated. Because she had captured the hearts of her country, former President Viktor Yushchenko and his wife, Kateryna Yushchenko-Chumachenko, helped to find her the very best treatment.
During each morning round, this child just jumped into the hands of Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov, in Burn Unit, No. 8 Municipal Hospital, Lvov, Ukraine.
They discovered the help she needed at Shriners-Boston. The couple helped to get her transferred to Shriners-Boston and, during a trip to Boston, visited Nastya’s mom and toured the hospital.
Since then, Shriners-Boston has treated several children from Ukraine and has established relationships with many Ukrainian medical professionals.
This past June, Dr. Daniel Driscoll, MD, and Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov, MD, traveled to Lvov, Ukraine to hold the first Shriners-Boston Eastern European Outreach Clinic. During their week-long visit, the physicians treated more than 100 patients, including six current Shriners-Boston patients, and performed five surgeries. In addition, Dr. Driscoll and Dr. Fuzaylov held three lectures on burn care for the Lvov hospital’s staff.
“Considering the limited resources they have, the Ukrainian doctors do an amazing job with their patients,” said Dr. Driscoll. “We shared our experience with the medical team there. We discussed our standards and methods of treating burns, including ways to manage a patient’s pain.”
Dr. Gennadiy Fuzaylov (far right) and Ukrainian anesthesiologists administer anesthesia for a surgical procedure conducted by Dr. Daniel Driscoll (far left).
The Shriners-Boston doctors were able to share their expertise by showing their Ukrainian colleagues uses of the hospital’s equipment that they didn’t realize were possible. The doctors’ visit received national media attention as they assisted many children from the region. In addition, they received a certificate of appreciation from the mayor and the minister of health.
Dr. Driscoll hopes they will be able to hold this Eastern European outreach clinic annually. Presently, they are planning additional educational opportunities. “Right now, we are arranging to host Dr. Savchan to observe at Shriners-Boston for two weeks in the fall of 2012,” he said.