UI Health clinical fellow collects medical supplies to support Ukrainian relief efforts

Dr. Yevhen Pavelko, a UI Health clinical fellow in minimally invasive/robotic surgery who is from Ukraine, is collecting medical supplies to support Ukrainian relief efforts.

“It started with a single post I made on Facebook calling out to health care professionals, physicians and nurses to please gather some supplies in their hospitals so we can send them to Ukraine,” he said.

Dr. Pavelko has been appointed by the Ukrainian president and parliament as an authorized person to conduct any humanitarian negotiation in the U.S. As a member of the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America, he also was appointed co-chair of the group’s Humanitarian Committee. With authorization from the Ukrainian government and his position with the medical association, Dr. Pavelko was able to talk directly with hospitals and businesses to collect supplies and help bring Ukrainian patients to the U.S. for medical care.

“After becoming authorized, hospitals around the United States became very responsive, and we even hired big warehouses to start collecting and storing supplies in order to help us build what we have started for Ukraine,” Dr. Pavelko said.

Dr. Pavelko and his team have been able to send three planes carrying 350 tons of medical supplies and equipment to Ukraine. They are scheduled to send a fourth plane of supplies May 12.

Dr. Pavelko said he is “grateful to all attending physicians for what they’ve done,” to support his cause, including UI Health’s Dr. Enrico Benedetti and Dr. Pier Giulianotti, who have made personal donations and helped with supplies.

The UIC community is encouraged to visit the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America website to find more information on how to get involved or email Dr. Pavelko at ypavelko@uic.edu.