Physician's Weekly Podcast

Physicians On The Frontline: Help For Ukraine

May 26, 2022 Physician's Weekly
Physician's Weekly Podcast
Physicians On The Frontline: Help For Ukraine
Show Notes

Welcome to this episode of the Physician’s Weekly Podcast. I am your host, Dr. Rachel Giles, from Medicom Medical Publishers, in collaboration with Physician’s Weekly. On 24 February 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine, and by March 14th the WHO declared that Ukraine health facilities were ‘stretched to breaking point’.  The United Nations have declared a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions.  Beyond hanging gold and blue flags of support, many physicians here in the US have jumped into the fray, eager to help with their professional services. 

Today we have an IN-DEPTH style episode, interviewing 2 Ukrainian-American doctors who have gone to Ukraine and delivered their expertise in addition to much needed supplies. 

Physician’s Weekly’s Chris Cole interviews Dr. Oleg Turkot first. He is an Assistant Professor of Anesthesiology and Critical Care Medicine at Johns Hopkins Hospital, in Maryland. Dr. Turkot entered Ukraine on 28th February with 2 dozen ultrasound Butterfly portable ultrasound probes donated by the Butterfly Network, which can be connected to most mobile phones and being so portable, can be used at frontline hospitals. Using ultrasound to locate shrapnel, he compared most Ukrainian hospitals to a Trauma Bay in US hospitals, and he describes teaching doctors there on the ground how to utilize basic needle guidance techniques in chicken breasts.

I next speak to an old friend and colleague, Prof Gennady Bratslavsky, the Chair of the Urology Department, specializing in Urologic Oncology at Upstate SUNY in Syracuse, NY. Prof Bratslavsky’s wife Katya sold nearly $300K of her art to fund the purchase of 2 ambulances and the transport of tons of medicine by a military plane. He tells, how after a 20-hour trip in an ambulance packed with supplies from Poland, showing up at the Ukrainian border with his American passport, made the border patrol think he was crazy.

Both of our guests in this week’s episode have amazing stories. Enjoy Listening!

More information, and the websites mentioned by our guests: 

https://m.facebook.com/butterflynetinc/photos/a.352492691501365/4895646557185933/?type=3&locale=hi_IN&_rdr

http://www.katyabratslavsky.com/

https://kybeleworldwide.org/

https://worldofconnections.org/

https://t2t.org/a-ukraine-donation/


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Want to share your medical expertise, research, or unique experience in medicine on the PW podcast? Email us at editorial@physweekly.com!

Thanks for listening!