A rehabilitation unit for war-affected individuals opened in Vasylkiv
KYIV, October 16, 2024 — A new rehabilitation unit for people affected by Russia's full-scale invasion—veterans, their families, and civilians—was opened in Vasylkiv, Kyiv region.
This is the second project of a social franchise from the “Mindy” charity fund that aims to make rehabilitation and psychosocial services available to veterans and civilians in small territorial communities without the need to travel to regional centers.
To scale the social franchise within the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program, the “Mindy” charity fund, the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the “Barrier-Free” NGO, the Kyiv Regional Military Administration, as well as members of the “Business Without Barriers” community, Visa and Oschadbank, united their forces in a consortium. The project was realized as part of the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?” which is being implemented at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska.
“Today, the issue of rehabilitation and recovery of both veterans and civilians affected by the war is one of the priority challenges for our country. The war affected everyone, but especially those who felt its devastating effects firsthand. That is why rehabilitation services should be available to everyone, regardless of place of residence, including the most remote communities,” said Deputy Minister of Health Oleksandr Porhun.
“We are proud that the idea of creating mobile rehabilitation units, which we initiated at our fund, is being successfully scaled up and implemented in new Ukrainian cities. The first unit in Ovruch showed a great demand for such services, and based on the experience gained, we improved our approaches for further projects, such as the rehabilitation unit in Vasylkiv. This is not just a medical institution, but a place where people get a chance to fully recover and return to normal life. Together with our partners, we continue to work to ensure that such opportunities are available in every region where they are needed,” said Taras Yermakov, head of the “Mindy” fund.
The mobile rehabilitation unit is a modern, technologically advanced, barrier-free space with an area of 72 m², which provides free psychosocial assistance and physical rehabilitation. It is equipped with all the necessary rehabilitation equipment, as well as a WiFi system, a TV for online classes, climate control, and other necessary devices.
“Barrier-free environment is the philosophy of a society of equal opportunities proposed by First Lady Olena Zelenska. The mobile rehabilitation unit project embodies this philosophy in at least two dimensions: in a completely barrier-free space, convenient for different people, and in an accessible rehabilitation, for which you do not need to go to the regional center,” said Oksana Zbitnieva, Head of the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and Head of the “Barrier-Free” NGO.
The format of a social franchise also involves the work of a multidisciplinary team of specialists in each unit, which makes the rehabilitation process as effective as possible. This team includes a case manager, a psychologist, a doctor of physical and rehabilitation medicine, a physical therapist, a speech therapist, as well as representatives of partner organizations who provide other social services.
“Rehabilitation and reintegration of veterans is one of the key areas of Oschadbank’s inclusive program, ‘My Barrier-Free’. For almost a year it has been in place, we have achieved a lot. We have three joint projects with the Superhumans rehabilitation center, not only donating funds to it ourselves but also engaging customers and partners in this process. We also introduced an internal program of reintegration for demobilized colleagues. Another direction is the economic reintegration of veterans into society through cooperating with government support programs and creating a special banking product for Ukrainians who have returned from the war zone. The social franchise of rehabilitation units is an important component of these initiatives. We are proud that with our support it is spreading to different regions of Ukraine,” commented Chairman of the Board of Oschadbank, Serhii Naumov.
“Supporting social initiatives is one of Visa's strategic priorities, and amid the full-scale war, these efforts become even more relevant. We are glad that the social franchise from the ‘Mindy’ charity fund is successfully scaling up, creating full-fledged rehabilitation conditions for war-affected individuals in the cities across Ukraine new to this project,” commented Svitlana Chyrva, Visa Vice President, Country Manager for Ukraine and Moldova. ”We are proud that we continue to support this important initiative, which helps Ukrainians to return to a full life, fulfilling our global mission of empowering local communities.”
The social franchise contains a complete package of necessary documents and algorithms of interaction between the main stakeholders: the community, the government, and donors. This simplifies the integration of the unit into the local healthcare system, the National Health Service of Ukraine’s medical guarantees program, and other state and local services. This approach significantly strengthens the system of secondary long-term rehabilitation after the main period of treatment in an outpatient format.
“The creation of a rehabilitation center for veterans in the Vasylkiv community is an extremely important step in our situation. Assistance to war veterans and military personnel returning to civilian life is a top priority for all of us today, and it is our shared duty to stand by them in this difficult time. We are grateful to everyone who joins in such an important cause, as the creation of such centers is not only about rehabilitation but also adaptation to new living conditions,” emphasized Vasylkiv city mayor Nataliia Balasynovych.
As of now, rehabilitation clusters, which consist of a rehabilitation unit, a unit for temporary accommodation of veterans, patients, and doctors, as well as a unit with a rehabilitation pool, have already been developed.
To become a patient of the Vasylkiv rehabilitation unit, you need to fill out an online questionnaire at the link.
The first rehabilitation unit of the social franchise was opened in Ovruch, Zhytomyr region, in January 2024. As part of the expansion of the franchise, the rehabilitation space in Vasylkiv was improved based on feedback from Ovruch specialists and patients.
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The project is part of a social franchise for installing a mobile rehabilitation unit in the city of Vasylkiv, Kyiv region, implemented by the “Mindy” charity fund in cooperation with the Coordination Center for Mental Health of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the “Barrier-Free” NGO within the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program “How Are You?" which is being implemented at the initiative of First Lady Olena Zelenska. The project was made possible due to the support of the members of the “Business Without Barriers” community, Visa and Oschadbank, and with the assistance of the Kyiv Regional Military Administration.
About Visa
Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, merchants, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at visa.com.ua.
About Oshchadbank
Oshchadbank is the leading Ukrainian universal commercial bank, 100% of whose shares belong to the state. The bank has the largest network of branches and provides services to more than 6.2 million active customers, including individuals, SMEs, and the biggest private and state-owned Ukrainian companies.
About the “Mindy" charity fund
The “Mindy" charity fund was founded in 2022 with the aim of adapting veterans to civilian life. By the end of 2023, Mindy has provided more than 3,000 free sessions of psychosocial assistance and physical rehabilitation. Based on this experience, the team created a new social franchise project that provides much-needed free services in small towns in Ukraine.
About the “Barrier-Free” NGO
Center for coordination of expertise and promotion of barrier-free accessibility as a new social norm. The “Barrier-Free” NGO is an executive partner of the First Lady Olena Zelenska's initiative “Without Barriers”, aimed at creating equal opportunities for all Ukrainians, and the initiative to develop and implement the All-Ukrainian Mental Health Program.