Medical aid at the Ukrainian border with Dr. Bukavina

Dr. Laura Bukavina is a urological oncology fellow at Fox Chase in Philadelphia and will join Case Western as a practicing urologic oncologist the following summer.

Bukavina is spending approximately two weeks at Madika at the Ukraine-Poland border during the refugee crisis.

MedWish is a medical recycling program in Cleveland, Ohio under the directorship of Dr. Lee Ponsky.

MedWish accepts hospital donations of supplies that are near expiration, surplus, or donated for need, and provides them to individuals or charities at extremely low cost.

MedWish donations range from bandages and medications to intubation kits and large machinery depending on available stock.

On average, approximately 100,000 people cross the Ukraine-Poland border on any given day during the crisis.

The volunteer team brought approximately 200 pounds of medical supplies and received about 45 packages of medical supplies daily during the first two weeks.

Volunteers without formal organizational affiliation can arrive at the border, find a volunteer coordinator, and be integrated into helping roles regardless of medical training.

Non-medical volunteer roles include sorting boxes, guiding people, setting up tents, making soup, and distributing supplies.

Approximately half of the patients seen in the medical clinic at the border are children or pregnant women.

The refugee population crossing the border is predominantly sick, malnourished, and dehydrated, making medications a higher priority than clothing.

There is insufficient indoor storage infrastructure at the border, forcing donated clothing to be stored outside where it becomes wet from snow and melting, rendering much of it unusable.

Available tents are prioritized for keeping people warm rather than storing clothing donations.

There is a massive surplus of over-the-counter medications like ibuprofen, Tylenol, and cold medicine that do not require prescriptions.

There is a critical shortage of IV antibiotics because in Europe they are only accessible to physicians in hospitals and cannot be obtained from pharmacies.

Veterinarians in Europe have access to IV antibiotics that are the same as those used in human medicine, making them a potential source for border medical operations.

Bukavina has been reaching out to sources across Europe, including veterinarians, to obtain shipments of IV antibiotics.