Rehabilitation of Victims of the War in Ukraine
Summary
In 2022, Superhumans Ukraine, Inc. committed to launching the Superhumans Center, a rehabilitation center for those injured because of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainian civilians and military personnel alike are expected to become disabled for life due to the war, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is expected to become a major challenge for the country in the coming months and years. To address this reality, Superhumans Ukraine, in coordination with the government of Ukraine, will refurbish and equip the Veterans’ Hospital in Lviv to be a state-of-the-art facility providing prosthesis, facial reconstruction surgery, and PTSD support to victims of the war to over 100 people in its first year of operation. The Center will also provide capacity building in these specialty areas to over 6,000 Ukrainian physicians, paramedics, and surgeons, strengthening the ability of Ukraine’s health system to serve individuals impacted by the war.
Approach
To give injured and traumatized citizens the chance at a normal life, Superhumans Ukraine will launch a state-of-the-art war victim rehabilitation center for adults and children in close coordination with the government of Ukraine to provide prosthetics and post-prosthetics rehabilitation, facial reconstruction; and psychological support for civilians and veterans. Superhumans will also establish an educational center for medical professionals at the Center to improve the level of knowledge of Ukrainian specialists and provide decentralization of services throughout the country.
The Superhumans team will launch this Center by raising additional funds to refurbish the existing Veterans Hospital in Lviv, Ukraine into a state-of-the-art rehabilitation facility, leveraging the team’s vast experience in humanitarian and business projects. Superhumans will reconstruct 86,000 square feet of hospital facilities and establish and equip a prosthetics lab and a rehabilitation department in the first year of operation. The educational center will start its operations in early 2023 by creating video tutorials, online lectures, and case studies for paramedics and doctors. In Q2, Superhumans will organize several medical missions to address the most difficult cases of facial reconstruction and prosthesis for people injured during the war, using the Veterans Hospital’s facilities. Patients will be referred by the government and can use a self-referral model as well. Superhumans is recruiting international specialists for its medical board and well-known individuals for its ambassador board to bring the best experience and to maintain awareness of the situation in Ukraine.
As a result of this commitment, during the center’s first year of operations, 75 patients will get prothesis and up to 50 will go through difficult face reconstruction procedures. These numbers are expected to rise in subsequent years. Through the Center’s educational programs, Superhumans will build the capacity of up to 1,000 prosthetics specialists via online materials, up to 5,000 paramedics via field trainings and online materials, and and up to 100 surgeons. The Center represents the first public-private partnership to be created to reduce the burden on the Ukrainian healthcare system and can serve as a model for replication.
Action Plan
September 2022: Legal setup, location chosen, and agreement signed, acquisition of team
September 2022: Design of the center finished
September – November 2022: Fundraising
October 2022 – March 2023: Reconstruction of the area and equipment purchase
March – April 2023: Launch of the hospital
October 2023: Launch of the Educational Center
Background
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has created an unprecedented humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands of people are expected to become permanently impaired. The government of Ukraine reported in mid-summer 2022 that more than 13,000 civilian casualties had been documented and 7,890 injured including more than 700 children. Medical data states that more than 5,000 Ukrainians will require prosthesis due to long evacuation processes and lack of capacity among military personnel and paramedics regarding the use of tourniquets. Most amputations are currently being done on the frontlines and require re-amputations in health facilities. This demonstrates a clear need for additional training for Ukrainian medical personnel in these areas. PTSD is also expected to be a major challenge for Ukraine in the next years. Since millions of people have experienced trauma and will require psychological support, thousands of specialists will need to be trained to work with war-related trauma. Given the extraordinary strain placed on the government by the war, the government of Ukraine is only able to partially cover prosthesis for people injured during the war and cannot address facial reconstruction needs due to limited resources and the need to prioritize life-saving medical care.
Progress Update
Superhumans’ state-of-the-art prosthetic lab, rehabilitation and psychological support departments are up and running and serving patients. The world-class medical center opened its doors on April 14. By the end of 2023, an in-patient department and surgery rooms will be opened to start reconstructive surgeries.
Superhumans’ educational center started to fill gaps in Ukraine’s medical sector by training prosthetic engineers with Open Bionics technicians in the United Kingdom, and trainings with prosthetists and rehabilitation specialists with Ottobock in Germany. Separate trainings for rehabilitation specialists were held in Latvia and the Czech Republic. In partnership with governments and key players in the market, we are bringing the best expertise to Ukraine through training opportunities for Superhumans staff.
Partnership Opportunities
Superhumans Ukraine is seeking financial support for key areas such as rehabilitation, prosthetics, facial reconstruction, and the educational center. They are also seeking in-kind donations to equip the hospital or rehabilitation center, as well as knowledge and expertise from specialists in the aforementioned areas
Superhumans Ukraine is offering a model of public-private partnership, a network of ambassadors, media support in Ukraine, as well as cooperation opportunities in further projects to partners.