by Valentina Gordych & Savulyak Ruslan
Original posted on Suspilne Media, May 9, 2022
Paramedics from the USA, who worked during hostilities in Syria and Iraq, arranged training for emergency medical workers in the Rivne region. They talked about modern approaches to stopping bleeding, pain relief, caring for patients with burns and conducted practical sessions.
An instructor of the international charitable organization “Global Response Management” named Vlado worked with Rivne medics without an interpreter. The man knows and speaks Ukrainian, because his mother is from Ukraine.
During 12 years of volunteering, Vlado participated in many charitable missions, he decided to come to Ukraine from the first days of the war.
“I am a professional medic, so what I have learned and my general experience, which I have gained in many countries of the world, on many continents, will help these medics,” Vlado explained.
Paramedics from “Global Response Management” conduct tactical medicine trainings in various cities of Ukraine.
“We teach how to apply a tourniquet, control blood loss, how to safely care for patients in the war zone and areas close to them. For doctors who have the knowledge, we provide in-depth training using specific medications and procedures: helping patients with significant burns, blood transfusion in the field,” said Daniel Taylor, head of the Global Response Management training department.
According to him, emergency medical workers and medics of ground defense units are being trained. Protocols for providing pre-medical care are constantly being improved, and American paramedics introduce Ukrainian colleagues to the latest scientific research.
“This is very powerful material that they provide regarding the organization of improvised hospitals, which can be done in combat conditions. Such nuances that we did not even know,” admitted Andriy Stakhniuk, head of the training department of the emergency medical aid center of the Rivne region.
After completing the training, Anna Sokolova, a doctor at the Varas emergency medical center, said that she would pass on the acquired knowledge and skills to her colleagues.
“We didn’t have such experience in terms of time, how to work, what should be paid attention to, what can be done later, which condition can be postponed for later, and which should be bought now and here,” she said.
Also, the American paramedics handed over to their Ukrainian colleagues individual first-aid kits, equipped according to modern requirements.
