The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation and the Ministry of Health are initiating online training for healthcare professionals who operate the ventilators
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Association of Anesthesiologists are launching online courses to train healthcare professionals to operate the ventilators. The corresponding Memorandum of Cooperation was signed in Kyiv on 19 May 2020.
The online training program includes a digital series "How do Ventilators Work?" (link), which has already been viewed more than 130,000 times, as well as a webinar program for anesthesiologists and other physicians involved in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic. The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation will host these webinars together with the Ministry of Health and the Association of Anesthesiologists of Ukraine.
"Online training is progressing dynamically all over the world. Online medical courses have become very popular. This is all due to the coronavirus epidemic, which has accelerated this trend. In the current conditions, distance learning is a necessity. Thousands of doctors in Ukrainian state hospitals can now operate the new equipment purchased by foundations, businesses, and the state. For example, the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation has purchased 200 ventilators for main state hospitals in different regions of Ukraine, and some of them have already been installed. Now the lives of patients with complications of COVID-19 depend on the ventilators. And health care workers in hospitals should quickly learn to operate the new equipment. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Foundation has been closely coordinated by the Ministry of Health. And today we have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation with the Ministry of Health and the Association of Anesthesiologists. This agreement will allow us to kick off an actual educational project for doctors and healthcare professionals who are the frontliners in the coronavirus battle," Natalia Yemchenko, member of the Supervisory Board of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, said.
Summarizing the results of the Memorandum, the Minister of Health of Ukraine Maksym Stepanov spoke about the situation with coronavirus in the country and the significance of the new collaborative project of the Foundation and the Ministry of Health.
"When the coronavirus cases were detected in Ukraine, we all knew that the medical system was not ready to fight the disease. At that time, there were not enough personal protective equipment; infectious hospitals were not fully prepared for the number of patients that we saw in the Western countries. The containment measures (quarantine) were effective, and we managed to avoid the peak load on the Ukrainian medical system. The number of occupied beds has not exceeded 12% so far. The state needed some time to put initiate maximal measures regarding the situation - reallocate funds, start financing and purchasing necessary resources. I appreciate all the work the businesses and volunteers who started helping in the fight against coronavirus disease did. We thank the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation for the contribution it has made and continues to make. To be more specific, for purchasing ventilators and for offering such an online course to our doctors, anesthesiologists, resuscitators who provide direct medical care in different parts of our country," the Minister said.
President of the Association of Anesthesiologists, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Serhii Dubrov, told why ventilators are indispensable in intensive care and how important it is to use all the capabilities of this equipment correctly:
"The ventilators may be critical during the treatment of very ill patients, and its importance cannot be cannot be overemphasised. We are eternally grateful to the Foundation for its both financial and educational assistance. Not every regional doctor can learn to operate modern equipment. And such educational programs are aimed at conveying this knowledge to almost all doctors.
The first online conference is scheduled for 21 May. Anaesthetists and intensive care professional of the main state hospitals will be told within three hours about the world's best practices in the treatment of COVID-19 and how to effectively use ventilators.The experts are: Head of the Department of Infectious Diseases of Bogomolets National Medical University, Professor, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Merited Doctor of Ukraine Olha Holubovska, First Vice-Rector of Bogomolets National Medical University, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor Yuriy Kuchyn, Anesthesiologist of the Department of X-ray Endovascular Surgery of the Alexander Clinical Hospital in Kyiv Andrii Vysotskyi and Professor of the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care of the Bogomolets National Medical University, Doctor of Medical Sciences, President of the Association of Anesthesiologists of Ukraine Serhii Dubrov.
The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation was one of the first in Ukraine to launch a project in remote medical training. It was in the autumn of 2013, when four tuberculosis dispensaries of Donetsk Oblast received telecommunications systems from the Foundation, which were delivered from with Donetsk Regional Clinical Tuberculosis Hospital. This made it possible to get consultations from highly qualified doctors and provide treatment to more than a thousand patients.
The Founder of the Foundation Rinat Akhmetov sent 300 million UAH to fight the coronavirus in Ukraine. Read more about the Foundations's assistance at.
