‘Project Renew’, which is a Ukrainian amputee rehabilitation programme being offered at Steward Healthcare Malta, has welcomed its first patients.
The first Ukrainian soldiers to benefit from this programme are Vitali Tarusin, 32 and Andriy Konovalov, 45. The two soldiers are being supported by Anna Kovaleva, founder of FFU, as well as Olena Nikolaienko, CEO and Head of Strategy and Development of Future for Ukraine.
A total of 24 Ukrainian war victims will be receiving assistance in Malta throughout 2023 from leading prosthetics company MCOP International (MCOPi), SHCM, Steward Health Care International (SHCI), and the nonprofit Future for Ukraine (FFU).
Tarusin is coming Kharkiv, the city where he previously lived together with his wife and two daughters before the war. Recounting his experience, he said that he used to work as a builder and interior designer. However when the Russians started to attack his homeland, he decided to join the Ukrainian army, despite having no prior military experience.
Unfortunately on 2 October 2022, whilst on duty, Tarsun ended up being injured from artillery, tank and mortar fire, which left him needing an amputation of the left lower leg.
On 4 October he was hospitalised in Kyiv and transferred to the National Military medical clinical centre on the 24 November.
Similarly, Konovalov, originally from Donetsk, moved to Kramatorsk when the Russian-backed insurgency began in 2014.
Before the recent Ukrainian invasion by Russia, Konovalov worked as a physical education teacher and, like Tarsin, had no military experience.
He decided to join the Ukrainian Armed forces after he realised the scale of the war and decided to fight for the sake of his daughters.
After joining and receiving the necessary training in February of last year, on 7 October, whilst carrying out a combat mission near the city of Sviatove, Konovalov was seriously injured by a landmine. He was taken to a field hospital and was transported eventually to Kharkiv hospital. He was later was operated on and two weeks later he was sent to a hospital in the city of Sumy.
They recently arrived in Malta and are being cared for by the teams at the Orthotics and Prosthetics Unit and the Vascular and Amputee Rehabilitation Unit at St Luke’s and Karin Grech Rehabilitation Hospital.
It was revealed that both soldiers are just two of more than 3,000 Ukrainians who have lost a limb in the war due to bomb blasts and other explosions.
Currently the soldiers are undergoing an intensive month long care model developed by SHCM and MCOPi professionals that aims to provide them with prosthetic legs together with therapy and training to ensure full functioning of the prosthetic so they can return home.
In the press conference CEO and President of SHCI Armin Ernst said that Steward Health Care is honoured to be part of this important initiative, “building on our long-term partnership with the Government of Malta and MCOPi to contribute towards providing support to victims of the war in the Ukraine and help them build a better future. Our priority is to deliver coordinated treatment in the right place at the right time, so that our patients can spend more time pursuing healthy, active lives and less time in hospital.”
He added that the collaboration between Steward and MCOPi collaboration goes back to 2018 with Steward’s revamping of the Orthotics and Prosthetics Unit (OPU) in Malta.
“We engaged a global leader with long years of experience in the field of prosthetics, providing specialised military prosthetics as well as life-long care for people with complex limb loss. I thank all those involved but in particular to our dedicated staff at OPU, Vascular and Amputee Rehabilitation Unit and the Physiotherapy Department at our hospitals in supporting this important humanitarian project and going the extra mile to ensure that this will not in any way delay care, increase waiting times or negatively impact the provision of prosthetics to Maltese amputees or other patients making use of Steward’s OPU and related rehabilitation services.”
Also present for the press conference was CEO of MCOPi Ian Fothergill who said that the company works on an international level to better the access for amputees to get desired services and technology.
“We are very excited to launch Project Renew in Malta. This is a program which has been underway in the United States for several months to provide prosthetics for Ukrainian soldier amputees.”
“The next and ultimate step will be to create a state-of-the-art centre in Ukraine itself. The centre would not only provide care, but also hire Ukrainians and train them in providing the best healthcare and rehabilitation methods for the most complex cases, using the most advanced techniques,” said Fothergill.
During the event Robert Gailey who is a professor at the University of Miami at the Miller School of Medicine in the Department of Physical Therapy having taught for more than 35 years and a Special Advisor to the United States Department of Defense for amputee rehabilitation program, said that Prof. Gailey said ‘Project renew’ is breaking new ground in amputee and prosthetic care.
“Today I am happy to be a part of this initiative which includes a specific training program for Ukrainian amputees and the therapists who treat them.”
Olena Nikolaienko from FFU thanked its partners, patrons, and donors for rallying behind their just cause and “finding opportunities to provide such important assistance to our soldiers who, at the cost of their health, fight for freedom and democratic values for the whole world. The war took away their arms and legs, but the fighting spirit of Ukrainians cannot be broken. FFU is teaming up with the best specialists in Malta and the United States, to give back to our soldiers the opportunity to walk and even run.”
MCOPi and Steward will be organising a running clinic on Friday 27 January at the indoor gym at St. Pauls Missionary College – - between 9am and 12.30pm.
The public especially people with prosthesis are invited to attend this event. The aim behind it is to provide practical coaching and motivation for people with prosthesis to move better, easier and quicker, in a supportive and encouraging environment.
For more information email [email protected]