Texas Children's Hospital Announces Global Initiative to Help Ukrainians with Humanitarian and Medical Needs

HOUSTON, April 18, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As part of its longstanding commitment to global health, Texas Children's Hospital announced today a strategic regional and international initiative to address the humanitarian and medical needs of the people of Ukraine.

The nation's largest children's hospital will host a community donation drive Monday, April 18 through Saturday, April 23. Texas Children's volunteers and staff will collect much-needed hygiene items for children and women for overseas delivery to Ukrainian refugees in neighboring Romania. Texas Children's Hospital will send these coveted care packages with decorated cards and letters, hand-crafted by its patients and families to Ukrainian refugee families.

Houston and Austin communities are encouraged to visit www.texaschildrens.org/Ukraine where they can view a list of high-demand items they can purchase new, in the original packaging and drop off at our drive locations. Houstonians who are interested in contributing to Texas Children's Hospital's Ukraine Donation Drive can drop off items through the hospital's convenient drive-thru donation events. Volunteers and employees will collect donations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday, April 18 to Saturday, April 23 at:

• Texas Children's Hospital Texas Medical Center (Feigin Center Circle Drive, 1102 Bates Avenue, Houston)
• Texas Children's Hospital West Campus (Outpatient Entrance, 18200 Katy Freeway, Houston)
• Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands (private drive between the courtyard and parking garage)

In Houston, Austin and College Station, drop-boxes will be set up at Texas Children's Pediatrics and Urgent Care locations beginning April 18. All Texas Children's Pediatric and Urgent Care patients are welcome to bring their donation items with them to their appointments. From duct tape, ink pens, bar soap, diapers and hand wipes to other essential toiletries, all donated items will be prepared and packaged at Houston-based Medical Bridges, a non-profit that aims to bridge the healthcare gap worldwide by distributing medical equipment and supplies to communities in need across the globe, and shipped directly to Ukrainians in need via Crane Worldwide Logistics. For those who prefer to make a monetary donation to support Ukrainian refugees, Texas Children's has created a donation site at www.texaschildrens.org/ukrainedonations

"The core mission of Texas Children's Hospital is to create a healthier future for children and women throughout our global community which is our great privilege and responsibility," said Mark A. Wallace, President and CEO of Texas Children's Hospital. "We are proud to run toward the crisis in Ukraine with the life-sustaining health care and support fleeing refugee families need most. Whether through the donation of essential supplies or the provision of world-class medical care, Texas Children's global impact greatly surpasses the boundaries of its name."

In addition to the community donation drive, Texas Children's Hospital will utilize its robust Texas Children's Global Health Network to provide critical medical care to women and children fleeing war-torn Ukraine in Romania and collaborate with local institutions in Poland to address unmet specialized medical needs there.

In Romania, two OB/GYN physicians will provide lifesaving care to patients who have been forced from their homes at Texas Children's Hospital's Center of Excellence at the Baylor Black Sea Foundation Clinic — the Romanian headquarters at Texas Children's Hospital in Constanța. Similarly, Texas Children's Hospital has enlisted a pediatrician who is treating patients in a county hospital in Tulcea, Romania. As part of this care, physicians will be utilizing a portable ultrasound device generously donated by Butterfly iQ+ Ultrasound System, the world's first handheld, smart phone –compatible and complete ultrasound system.

In Poland, Dr. Michael Belfort, OBGYN-In-Chief at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women and Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Baylor College of Medicine, is spearheading Texas Children's Hospital's refugee care in Warsaw and Krakow, where he is collaborating with local physicians to enhance care to children and pregnant women with specific needs for sophisticated medical care in which Texas Children's Hospital specializes. Dr. Belfort also recently travelled to Rzeszów to deliver much-needed surgical equipment including specialized pediatric surgery suture material and surgical instruments to Prof. Artur Mazur and Dr. Piotr Bernat at the University of Rzeszów. This equipment and suture material was donated by Texas Children's Hospital at the request of pediatric surgeons in Ukraine who are struggling to keep up with the workload in besieged cities.

"Our commitment to the health and wellbeing of women and children at Texas Children's Hospital goes far beyond our presence in the Texas Medical Center," said Dr. Belfort. "By bringing the resources and expertise of our world-renowned Maternal Fetal Medicine and Fetal Center teams at Texas Children's Pavilion for Women to the families of Ukraine, we are improving health outcomes for women and children who have had to flee their homes in search of safety."

U.S. Congressman Michael McCaul lauded Texas Children's Hospital's global efforts to aid Ukrainian refugees. He said, "I strongly support the incredible work of Texas Children's Hospital in Poland and Romania to bring lifesaving medical care to the Ukrainians fleeing Putin's brutal full-scale invasion. The U.S. is standing side by side with the Ukrainian people, and I am proud the Texas community is stepping up to join this monumental effort."

"We have been a primary pediatric healthcare partner in the Constanta and Tulcea regions of Romania for two decades, and our physicians in Romania will treat pregnant people and sick kids regardless of nationality," said Michael Mizwa, Director of Global Health at Texas Children's Hospital. "We're all about access to care regardless of boundaries, and we want to address health inequities that are under the spotlight as a result of this war."

In a continued show of Ukrainian support and solidarity, Texas Children's Hospital's three campuses are currently illuminated with the Ukrainian colors of blue and gold.

About Texas Children's Hospital
Texas Children's Hospital, a not-for-profit health care organization, is committed to creating a healthier future for children and women throughout the global community by leading in patient care, education and research. Consistently ranked as the best children's hospital in Texas, and among the top in the nation, Texas Children's has garnered widespread recognition for its expertise and breakthroughs in pediatric and women's health. The hospital includes the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute; the Feigin Tower for pediatric research; Texas Children's Pavilion for Women, a comprehensive obstetrics/gynecology facility focusing on high-risk births; Texas Children's Hospital West Campus, a community hospital in suburban West Houston; and Texas Children's Hospital The Woodlands, the first hospital devoted to children's care for communities north of Houston. The organization also created Texas Children's Health Plan, the nation's first HMO for children; Texas Children's Pediatrics, the largest pediatric primary care network in the country with offices in Houston and Austin; Texas Children's Urgent Care clinics that specialize in after-hours care tailored specifically for children; and a global health program that's channeling care to children and women all over the world. Texas Children's Hospital is affiliated with Baylor College of Medicine. For more information, go to www.texaschildrens.org. Get the latest news by visiting the online newsroom and Twitter at twitter.com/texaschildrens.

SOURCE Texas Children's Hospital