Since the Ukraine-Russia conflict began in February 2022, there are reports that more than half of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians who died from their injuries could have been saved if medics and others were properly trained.
Retired U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark Arnold of Columbus is trying to help by providing mobile medical units and trained medics in Ukraine.
With more than 37 years of military service and after serving three combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq in special operations task forces (Green Berets), the highly trained and decorated Arnold understands what is needed to save lives. After retiring from the military, he graduated from the Ohio Fire Academy’s EMT and firefighter courses while training to be a medic and a certified medic instructor.
In Ukraine, medics were educated by physicians in five medical schools until three were destroyed and one severely damaged during the conflict with Russia. While the Ukrainian military has approximately 27,000 medics, the significant expansion of the Ukrainian ground forces and casualties among medics has resulted in fewer than 20% receiving more than two weeks of education in pre-hospital medicine before being assigned to their units, as compared with a 16-week education program pre-invasion.
Almost all injured Ukrainian soldiers are two to six hours from point of injury to the first physician in the chain of care and four to six days until they are hospitalized. Often, enemy artillery attacks prevent evacuation from the front for up to two days.
The Ukrainian Military Medical Academy is responsible for educating and graduating physicians, nurses and medics. The academy has plans to qualify a total of 120 instructors (most are physicians) to teach the Tactical Combat Casualty Care Combat Medic course (TCCCCMC), the same curriculum used by the U.S. military for its medics. The Academy is establishing 23 geographically dispersed sites plus mobile training teams to educate medics near their units of assignment.
This model, which uses Ukrainian trauma physicians and other experienced medical providers, worked in Ukraine from 2015 to 2021. But it was slowed by the pandemic and destroyed after the hostilities with Russia began.
To revive the program, $2 million-$2.5 million is needed to purchase equipment from the United States and for shipment of medical training aids and pickup trucks for the mobile physician instructor teams.
To help in these efforts, The Columbus Foundation is managing the donor-advised Frontline Medical Ukraine fund. To learn more, go to www.cbusfdn.org/frontline-medical-ukraine or [email protected]. To donate, go to www.catholic-foundation.org/information-library/foundation/news/general/help-save-lives-in-ukraine.org or contact the Foundation at (614) 443-8893.
In addition, Catholic Relief Services (CRS) is supporting Caritas Ukraine in its emergency efforts. Since the 2022 invasion, CRS partners Caritas Ukraine (Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church) and Caritas Spes (Roman Catholic Church) have assisted nearly four million people.
Support includes:
• Food assistance; field kitchens that provide hot lunches and snacks
• Reception services at Caritas offices, train stations and other locations for displaced people with clothing, information, referrals, food, water, hygiene items, and counseling services.
• Transportation of displaced families to friends, families, and local social services.
• Evacuation centers that provide shelter, food, legal assistance and counseling services for displaced families. These centers include support to address emotional care and child-friendly spaces.
CRS also supports relief efforts in Moldova, Romania, Poland, Hungary and the Balkans.
Help is needed where there is great risk of suffering both within Ukraine and for those who may flee to neighboring countries for safety and people who have been displaced to safe areas, as well as conflict-affected residents in isolated settlements.
To support CRS and its partners, go to: www.support.crs.org/donate. Donations provide immediate assistance for the people of Ukraine. Your support makes a difference.
And remember to pray for the people of Ukraine:
Grant victory over the powers of evil that have arisen and bless Ukraine with your gifts of liberty, peace, tranquility and good fortune. We implore you, O Merciful God, look with grace upon those who courageously defend their land.
