The Role of the Medical Sector and Corporate Responsibility to Support Ukraine

Among the steps taken by representatives of various fields to help Ukrainians affected by the war, the support of the Georgian medical sector is one of the largest and most diverse. This process covered a number of areas: in addition to doctors and medical workers arriving in Ukraine and assisting local personnel in treating the wounded of the hostilities, numerous medical services were launched in our country as well.

Very soon after the start of the war, the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons, Labor, Health and Social Affairs opened a special hotline for refugees from Ukraine, where they could verify various necessary information.

Citizens of Ukraine were provided with doctors’ consultations and emergency outpatient services for free by the chain of Evex Clinics and Evex Hospitals, and in Aversi clinics they were also able to receive specialist consultations and emergency medical care free of charge.

One of the largest medical laboratories Megalab offered free laboratory services to Ukrainian citizens in Georgia. TBC Insurance provided a free health insurance package under which Raymann Clinic provided outpatient services. Ardi provided free health insurance to all citizens of Ukraine across the country.

A special medical card Med Card was launched at the Georgian-American Family Medicine Clinic “Medical House” to help the citizens of Ukraine displaced by the war.

Imedi Clinic treated Ukrainian women and children in Georgia free of charge, and the clinics of Davit Davarashvili and Davit Gagua provided pregnant women with the necessary obstetric and gynecological care.

Ukrainian IDPs who came to Georgia received and are receiving the necessary medical services in different directions. In the name of the Georgian medical community, it must be said that they did everything possible to help the Ukrainians affected by the war and to cope with the important challenge with dignity. Lika Kartozia, General Manager of the Georgian-American Family Medicine Clinic “Medical House” and Irakli Gagua, Operations Director of Gagua Clinic, talk about this process and the difficulties associated with it.

Lika Kartozia, Georgian-American Family Medicine Clinic “Medical House”

General manager

– Due to the specifics of its activities, the medical sector was most affected by the situation in Ukraine, both professionally and ethically. Georgian doctors and medical companies have been involved in humanitarian activities since the first days of the war. How did your company participate in this process?

– The ongoing war in Ukraine is a painful issue for every citizen of Georgia. The Georgian-American Family Medicine Clinic Medical House expressed its desire to support the IDPs from Ukraine as soon as the hostilities began, for which a number of actions were planned. In particular, from May 1, 2022, a special card – Med Card for Ukrainian People – was launched at the Medical House, which includes the following medical services: free consultation with specialists in various fields, free instrumental examination and 30% discount on laboratory services.

Also, according to the joint decision of the pharmacy network Aversi and our clinic, a 25% discount is applied daily on the full range of medicines in the pharmacy near Medical House. This promotion is valid until July 1.

– What is the corporate responsibility of companies in the medical sector in the current situation, what determines their behavior – on the example of your organization?

– Many representatives of the medical sector have expressed good will to help Ukrainians as much as possible, which clearly shows the aspiration of companies in our field to corporate responsibility. Such activity is not new for Medical House. In recent years, we have also tried to help vulnerable groups who need more attention from the community (beneficiaries of nursing homes, war veterans, children with Down syndrome, etc.). The desire of our clinic is to have a positive impact on improving the social environment in the country through its activities.

– How important are such actions to present Georgia in a positive way and to further strengthen relations between the countries?

– The current war in Ukraine is not the tragedy of just one country, it is a pain of the whole democratic world. Companies, clinics and various institutions operating in Georgia are trying to contribute to resolving this severe crisis. I believe that the co-participation and consolidation of each of them is important to overcome the problem. A similar approach by companies operating in Georgia will further improve relations between Ukraine and Georgia.

– How will your support for Ukraine continue?

– As the war is still going on and the number of victims is growing, Medical House will try its best to show solidarity and support to the displaced citizens of Ukraine.

– The Third Sustainable Development Goal addresses health and well-being and calls on countries to have access to universal coverage of health services, including protection against financial risks and quality basic health services. By 2030, this task is also facing Georgia. The health sector has been battling a pandemic since 2020, and is now dealing with the consequences of the war in Ukraine. How has all this affected the medical sector and what can be done to improve the situation? How important is cooperation between the private sector and the state to achieve this goal?

– The third goal of sustainable development, which aims to achieve health and well-being, is measured by various indicators. The pandemic that began two years ago has hampered a sustained move towards that goal and shifted all attention to COVID and then already, to the war.

During the pandemic, the importance of the primary care, the need for family doctors, and access to medical services, both financially and geographically, became clear. Medical House is a Georgian-American Family Medicine Clinic, which provides care based on American standards, evidence-based and innovative medical services in the medical sector for 11 years. A clear example of this is outpatient, one-day surgery, which was first introduced in our clinic and is more cost-effective for both the patient and the state. In this regard, we are actively cooperating with private insurance companies, as well as with the state – within the framework of the universal health care program. Our clinic is actively fighting against polypharmacy, which, unfortunately, is not a rare occurrence in the country.

In general, I believe that the third goal of sustainable development requires more emphasis on preventive and primary care, it is necessary to promote a healthy lifestyle, as well as to expand screening programs, for example in cardiovascular field, which will reduce the risk of chronic diseases, enable their effective management and improve people’s quality of life. Every Penny invested in primary healthcare, will further save healthcare expenses and reduce inpatient care. It is evident that tasks can be solved only in the conditions of close cooperation between the public and private sectors, which will ultimately be beneficial for both parties.

Irakli Gagua, Operations Director of Gagua Clinic

– The medical sector was most affected by the situation in Ukraine, both professionally and ethically. Georgian doctors and medical companies have been involved in humanitarian activities since the first days of the war. How did your company participate in this process?

– From the day of the start of hostilities in Ukraine, the Gagua Clinic has expressed its support for the Ukrainian people and expressed the desire to provide free services to Ukrainian citizens visiting Georgia – both outpatient and inpatient.

The Gagua Clinic has already received 20 Ukrainian pregnant women. Some of them arrived before the war and some after the war. 20 Ukrainians used outpatient services. The story of each is very emotional. A young woman, an IDP from Abkhazia, who gave birth at our Clinic was only one year old when her family fled Abkhazia and took refuge in Ukraine. After the start of the war in Ukraine, a pregnant woman had to leave her home for the second time due to war. She came to the Gagua Clinic when she arrived in Georgia and this is how her daughter Sabina Dontsova was born in Tbilisi.

The story of Lyudmila Smolina, who came from Kherson and left her homeland after the bombing of Kherson, was also emotional. Ludmila gave birth to a daughter Maria, on April 13 at the Gagua Clinic. Maria, is the first Ukrainian child born in Georgia since the war.

– In addition to offering their services, many medical companies and clinics have launched special campaigns for Ukraine. Did you have a similar initiative?

– After significantly increasing the number of Ukrainian patients, we applied to the Ministry of Internally Displaced Persons from the Occupied Territories, Labor, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia with the request to get involved in our campaign. The Ministry supported this initiative. As a result, both maternity and other inpatient services will be co-financed in the future.

Currently, citizens of Ukraine across the country receive free medical care at clinics that participate in the universal health care program. The State fully reimburses the various services provided to them. Ukrainians who entered the country after February 1 can get free consultations and treatment in clinics operating in Georgia.

– What is the corporate responsibility of companies in the medical sector, what determines their behavior in the current situation?

– It is gratifying that other medical institutions have also shown corporate responsibility and joined the campaign to help our friendly country. The medical sector has been and continues to be actively involved in supporting Ukrainians: clinics offer free services to Ukrainians staying or arriving in Georgia. Various charitable campaigns are carried out, where representatives of the medical field are involved together with others. All this is very important for strengthening the corporate culture in this direction.

– How important are such actions to present Georgia in a positive way and to further strengthen relations between the countries?

-What is happening in Ukraine today, unfortunately, is well known to us, Georgian. At such times, supporting a friendly country and helping its citizens is not just a choice, it is our obligation and direct duty. The fact that we Georgians can stand side by side and help our friends in this difficult time was well shown in the very first days of the war. The private and public sectors all came together to support Ukraine and tried their best to participate in various causes and campaigns.

– How will your support for Ukraine continue – What are your plans for the future?

– Several Ukrainian doctors have already requested assistance from the Clinic, and we contacted the Ministry of Health to obtain a medical license in accordance with Georgian law. Two of them, with our support and following all the rules, received a document that will help them in their professional activities. In the future, as needed, we will continue to support the Ukrainians and treat them.

A number of steps have been taken on a private initiative to help the Ukrainian population: special charitable accounts have been set up, hundreds of tons of humanitarian aid have been collected, and some companies provide various services to Ukrainian citizens free of charge; Also, charitable events are actively held in support of Ukraine. I am confident that support will continue as long as Ukraine needs the support of Georgia. We stand by them in this noble cause, which we are very proud of.