Batsiura and other physicians and administrators with specialties in general medicine, surgery, and obstetrics and gynecology comprised an interesting group of medical experts. Before landing in Iowa on February 24, they began their adventure by studying about the federal healthcare system in Washington, D.C.
The group has already spent hours talking with and learning from the state's medical authorities and lawmakers on a range of health care topics, from standards of care and specialty therapies to hospital management. They have also toured hospitals all throughout the metro area.
The delegation went to the Des Moines VA Medical Center to learn more about the trauma treatment that is needed more than ever since Russia started its assault against Ukraine a year ago. They started their day with lectures given by the hospital's medical staff, which included talks on serious illnesses including PTSD and military sexual trauma.
They then went on a tour of the hospital's surgical units, where they spoke with physicians and nurses and asked detailed questions about pre- and post-operative procedures. They also discussed every facet of treatment, even down to the recovery rooms created to speed up patient recovery. The prosthetics department's managers and clinicians taught the physicians how they create personalized prostheses and instructed the veterans who get them, capping off the educational experience.
Insight into the US public health care system, especially in relation to how to care for veterans, according to Batsiura, enables her and her coworkers to essentially envision their future. They will bring knowledge of the advancements in the American healthcare system with them, she added, as well as a more nuanced grasp of its "potential problems."
She said that the knowledge gained will enable her and her Ukrainian coworkers to provide better care to the people who suffered during and after the war.
When this battle is ended, there will be a lot of veterans, she predicted. She emphasized that the connections she made with a range of medical experts in Iowa would promote the growth of her own practice as she strives to serve veterans who have sacrificed their health for their country.
In addition to the medical expertise and relationships she developed with her American hosts and Ukrainian colleagues, Batsiura said she is going home with the assurance that Americans support Ukraine in its struggle for independence.
As she remarked, "I'm very much impressed with what a unified voice we heard there in terms of support of Ukraine, both on the common level of people and in governmental establishments of all sorts through politicians, legislators. We are so glad to see that this country supports us unanimously."
