Jerusalem's Hadassah Hospital Takes Medical Responsibility for Ukrainian Refugees at Border Crossing

Fulfilling its humanitarian aid mission, Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem launched an emergency operation since 6 March in the city of Medyka on the border of Poland and Ukraine with the aim of providing medical care to refugees and disaster counselling to hospitals in the area.

Again, the institution is set in motion and goes to the place where it should be to assist in the emergency. In this case, in a war. It is also very important to note that the work is being done side by side with the Polish Red Cross and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Jorge Diener, executive director of Hadassah International and who leads this operation, explained: “We are in what was a shopping center today turned into the largest refugee space on the border with Ukraine providing medical care to the thousands of people who arrive daily, in their mostly women, children and the elderly”.

The biggest challenge is the deterioration in which refugees arrive after many days of transportation and walks at very low temperatures, many of them with pre-existing diseases that have worsened or for which they have not had the necessary remedies during the journey.

There is also a very relevant aspect in the psychological containment of the tremendous trauma in which they find themselves. They were left with nothing, in a state of abandonment and in the middle of a war. They have had to give up everything they had and in many cases, women have left their husbands because they are fighting on the front lines. In that sense, it is necessary to work on the physical and emotional part so that they can start a new life in Poland or other countries in Europe.

In addition, the institution trains hospitals in the area in disaster management and an emergency referral modality has been coordinated for all patients who require immediate transfer. In the words of the director, “the team unfortunately has a long history of caring for patients in bombings and wars, so we are sharing our experience with our colleagues in this part of the world.”

I would like to emphasize that this mission is made possible by all the donors around the world who are collaborating and we must thank all of them.

Hadassah is the main hospital in Israel and one of the most prestigious in the world. For more than 100 years, it has been providing medical care, training professionals and promoting the development of medicine globally.

(*) Jonathan Lemcovich is a member of the Board of Hadassah Latam and president of Hebraica Argentina.

KEEP READING: