With the generous support of our donors, hosts, and partners, the Peace and Development Foundation made a long-term and life-changing impact on many people in the last 18 months.

In the H1 2022 we focused purely on delivering much needed medical supplies and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian people directly affected by the war.

Since H2 2022 we shifted strategy to empower Ukrainian physicians with the modern leadership and professional skills to help them sustain and develop medical care during the war.

We also raised awareness about the brutal Russian invasion and advocated for the U.S. medical community to continue providing support for Ukraine.

Photo by Dr. Sofia Chaikovska at the Vanderbilt Transplant Center

Between December 2022 and December 2023, we organized 10 medical exchange projects that brought 52 Ukrainian doctors to 12 U.S. medical institutions and three conferences. Each group spent two weeks in the U.S. and another week traveling there and back.

Medical centers of Advent Health, Ascension Saint Thomas, Belmont University, HCA Sarah Cannon, Stanford University, Tennessee Oncology, Temple Health, Vanderbilt University kindly welcomed Ukrainian physicians selected by the Ministry of Health.

The primary goal was to connect Ukrainians with the top medical experts in the United States. Ukrainian doctors were able to shadow American colleagues to learn modern healthcare advances, to acquire new life-saving medical practices and to establish long-term professional collaborations.

They also had a unique chance to experience local culture and traditions through informal gatherings at homes, restaurants, museums, cultural centers, and churches.

For their part, Ukrainian physicians shared with U.S. colleagues, their families and friends their stories of how the war has impacted them personally, their families, patients, colleagues, and the whole country. This way American people could learn firsthand why it is important to continue supporting Ukraine’s fight for life and freedom.

Our Program is based on the successful exchanges that Dr. Ronald Hoekstra organized for Ukrainian doctors and nurses in 2005-2015. During that time period, Dr. Hoekstra brought more than 50 specialists for observership training at his Minnesota Children’s Hospital neonatal intensive care unit. These visits helped transform the practice of neonatology (caring for prematurely born babies) in Ukraine. Read When Miracle Babies Grow Up by PEOPLE magazine and previous blog post.

In December 2022 on the invitation of Senator Bill Frist, MD, eight Ukrainian doctors came to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN, to observe heart and lung transplant operations. They learned transplant protocols, multidisciplinary team work, and established relations with local colleagues. Read previous blog, also Operating in darkness: Part 1 The doctors' long road from Ukraine to Nashville and Operating in darkness: Part 2 Ukrainian doctors learn tricks of the trade at Vanderbilt by Nashville Business Journal and Ukrainian surgeons visit VUMC to observe transplant protocols by VUMC Reporter.

In April 2023 the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) invited and hosted five Ukrainians at the Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL and introduced us to their working groups, internal scientific media and research experts, and the leaders of the top U.S. cancer centers and departments. At the same time we had an opportunity to attend AdventHealth Cancer Institute and learn from colleagues there. Read Modern principles of oncology care: how to adopt the experience and implement it in Ukraine? by the Ukraine’s National Cancer Institute.

In June 2023 the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in partnership with the European Cancer Organization (ECO) hosted ten Ukrainian physicians at ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago, IL. The meetings were focused on networking, opportunities for professional development and collaborations for quality of cancer care improvement. While in Chicago there were opportunities to attend Robert Lurie Cancer Center. Read Ukraine: The War on Cancer, Fought in a War Zone by the U.S. News and World Report

In October 2023 Nashville’s Ascension Saint Thomas and Tennessee Oncology hospitals in partnership with Nashville Wine Auction opened their doors for a group of ten Ukrainian cancer physicians. It was a very warm, educative and emotional experience for both sides. Read Ukrainian oncologists visit Ascension Saint Thomas Midtown, West by the Tennessee Register.

Once the previous group left, another ten oncologists arrived at the beginning of November to Nashville, TN, for HCA TriStar Sarah Cannon Cancer Center and Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center observerships. Ukrainians learned about precision oncology, novel diagnostics and treatments of various cancers, particularly head and neck, thoracic, genitourinary, sarcomas, blood cancers and melanoma. Read Ukrainian oncologists visit Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center

At the same time, a group of four oncology doctors in November 2023 went to Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, PA following a generous invitation from their Director Dr. Jonathan Chernoff who we met at the AACR Annual Meeting. Read Ukraine Physicians Visiting Fox Chase Cancer Center Discuss Challenges in Delivering Cancer Care During War

In November 2023, a group of five physicians from Ukraine’s flagship Heart Institute attended Stanford University Medical Center in Palo Alto, CA that we co-organized with Prof. Natalia Kovalchuk and HUG group. Read Stanford welcomes a Ukrainian heart-lung transplant team for a 1-week observership and Training in one of the most famous hospitals in the world - Stanford University Transplant Center. Then they flew to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN that does the most heart transplants in the world nowadays. On their return to Ukraine, they were immediately able to use the insights they gained on the exchange to improve transplant operations. Read Ukrainian doctors again visit VUMC to observe organ transplants and protocols by VUMC Reporter.

Among highlights of the trips to Tennessee were a visit to Belmont University and meeting their Rector Dr. Greg Jones as well as the faculty of Thomas F. Frist, Jr. College of Medicine, attending Ming Wang Vision Institute for the preview of the “Sight” movie and the incredible story of the founder Dr. Wang. Visiting pathologists were highly impressed and inspired by the Path Group lab level of expertise, capacities, structure and story of success.

NashvilleHealth and Morgan Stanley panel session 'Synergizing Wellness and Prosperity’ offered us a great role model for strategic discussion on healthcare, business and government interaction to improve community health profile.

Finally, the year ended with arranging a trip for a Ukrainian surgeon and cancer researcher to the Society of Immunotherapy for Cancer (SITC) Annual Meeting in San Diego, CA. He presented a talk there and met a number of cancer research dignitaries who declared their support for Ukraine and being open to host more Ukrainians next year.

Social media posts by the hosts and participants:

https://www.facebook.com/peacedevelopment.fund