Lutsenko goes on trial - The Ukrainian Weekly

No. 22THE UKRAINIAN WEEKLY SUNDAY, MAY 29, 20119Groundbreaking conference in Kyiv focuses on pediatric nutritionby Illya M. LabunkaKYIV – Physicians, nutrition expertsand physical therapists from WesternEurope, the United States and Ukrainepooled their expertise and resources toorganize and participate in a groundbreakingconference on pediatric nutritionin Ukraine.The three-day conference, which tookplace in Kyiv on March 22-24, was organizedunder the aegis of the Ministry ofLabor and Social Policy of Ukraine andthe National Assembly of Invalids ofUkraine, and sponsored by the non-profithumanitarian initiative Sight and Life ofSwitzerland, the Starving for Color Fundof the United States, and the UkrainianMedical Association of North America(UMANA).Approximately 40 Ukrainian femaleand male pediatric nurses and physicaltherapists arrived in Ukraine’s capitalfrom all corners of the country to participatein the conference, which focused onthe nutritional, dietary and feeding problemsfaced by physically and mentallychallenged children (of the highest, 3rdand 4th levels, of incapacity) who live instate-run “internaty” (foster-type homesfor orphaned or abandoned children).In his opening remarks during the initialsession of the conference, DeputyMinister of Labor and Social Policy, IhorLuzhnikov welcomed the participantsand praised the organizers and sponsorsof the conference by recognizing theimportance of their efforts in attemptingto improve the lives of physically andmentally challenged children in Ukraine.“One of the responsibilities of ourministry is to regularly visit, inspect andsupervise the internaty, and to allocateappropriate resources in order to guaranteethe social welfare of the children andthe improvement of their lives throughproper medical facilities and technologyas stipulated by law,” said Mr.Luzhnikov.As of 2010, he related, the total numberof internaty in Ukraine is 324, ofwhich 55 serve the needs of the physicallyand mentally challenged child.Approximately 3,800 individuals currentlylive and receive care in Ukraine’sinternaty, including over 700 children ofthe third and fourth levels of incapacity.F o l l o w i n g D e p u t y M i n i s t e rLuzhnikov’s speech, Mark Fishbein,M.D. (as co-author), and Dr. RoksolanaTymiak-Lonchyna, D.D.S., both ofCover of the book on pediatric nutritionthat Dr. Roksolana Tymiak-Lonchyna managed to get translatedinto Ukrainian by a medical publishingcompany in Lviv.Chicago, presented Mr. Luzhnikov withthe Ukrainian translation of a 315-pagebook on nutrition titled, “Food Chaining:The Proven 6-Step Plan to Stop PickyEating, Solve Problems, and ExpandYour Child’s Diet.”The Ukrainian version of the pediatricnutrition book, co-authored by Dr.Fishbein, is the result of just one of themany of Dr. Tymiak-Lonchyna’s effortsto promote proper pediatric nutrition andhealth care in Ukraine.As one of the co-organizers of the conference,Dr. Tymiak-Lonchyna wasinstrumental in obtaining the necessarycopyright for a Ukrainian translation ofthe book. The translation and printingcosts, some $25,000, were sponsored bythe Starving for Color Fund.One thousand printed copies of thebook were published by the Lviv-basedcompany Medetsyna Svitu (www.msvitu.com). The book, written in an easy-tofollowlayman’s style, was distributed toeach of the Ukrainian participants of theconference, and is being disseminatedfree of charge throughout Ukraine’s internaty,rehabilitation centers, clinics andlibraries, and will be available to anyoneinterested in the topic.As he accepted the complimentarycopy of “Food Chaining,” Mr. Luzhnikovreaffirmed his ministry’s priority of cooperatingwith other Ukrainian NGOs, ministriesand international partners, such asthe National Assembly of Invalids ofUkraine, the Ministry of Health, theDutch government-sponsored MATRAproject and Sight and Life, to ensure theproper nutrition of children.“I am grateful for this Ukrainian translationon nutrition and I thank all of thespecialists who took the time to travelfrom as far as Switzerland, Germany andthe United States to share their expertisewith us,” concluded Deputy MinisterLuzhnikov.Since 2004, as founder and head of theStarving for Color Fund, Dr. Tymiak-Lonchyna has been visiting Ukraine, onaverage, every three months, purchasingmilk beverages and distributing themthroughout the country’s internaty fornewborn infants up to the age 1.The Dzherelo centerIn addition to the state-run internatsystem, Ukrainian children also have theopportunity to make use of the facilitiesand services of certain rehabilitation andeducational centers. Located in Lviv, themost successful of such institutions is theIllya M. LabunkaAt the conference on pediatric nutrition (from left) are: Lesia Kalandiak, physicaltherapist and conference co-organizer (Lviv), Dr. Mark Fishbein, gastroenterologist(Chicago), Dr. Tetiana Mischuk, pediatric neurologist (Lviv), Dr.Roksolana Tymiak-Lonchyna, dentist and conference co-organizer (Chicago).Dzherelo (Source) Rehabilitation andEducational Center.Established in 1993 by parents of childrenwith varying degrees of incapacity(within the third and fourth levels of disability)as an alternative to the traditionalinternat system, Dzherelo offers childrenthe opportunity to receive physical therapybased on a school-type schedule (9a.m.-4 p.m.), but with the opportunity tocontinue living at home with their families.Dzherelo, which is sponsored by,among others, the Lviv City Council, andprovides services to approximately 100individuals on a daily basis, was representedat the conference in Kyiv by oneof its main co-organizers, LesiaKalandiak. A Western-trained physicaltherapist with Canadian and Austrian certification,Ms, Kalandiak specializes inEarly Intervention (age 0-3) and offersconsultation to children up to the age of18. The program supervised by Ms.Kalandiak also includes services for childrenage 4-18 and a workshop for 18- to35-year-olds with various incapacities.Ms. Kalandiak, who is the GeneralSecretary of the National Association ofPhysical Therapists in Ukraine, has beeninvolved with Dzherelo since 2002.“The goal of our program is to providea combination of proper nutrition coupledwith rehabilitation, so that those individualswho have the possibility of mobility,can learn to become mobile,” explainedMs. Kalandiak. “The hope is to teachchildren – no matter what condition theyhave – to learn to function in a civil manner,for example, to eat at the table andnot on the floor. Thus, when a nurse isproperly trained, her or his job in caringfor such children can be a mutuallyrewarding experience. I’ve witnessedmentally challenged children who cansew beautiful icons and banners. Thesechildren need to be encouraged as membersof society,” added Dr. Tymiak-Lonchyna.According to Ms. Kalandiak, the Kyivconference was the first internationalforum on nutrition in Ukraine in whichinternat-based nurses, physical therapistsand physicians had the opportunity toparticipate. For Ms. Kalandiak, undertakingsuch a conference was based on astrategy of proven domestic success andfruitful international cooperation. Inaddition to her responsibilities atDzherelo, Ms. Kalandiak also serves asthe national coordinator of the DutchsponsoredMATRA project “TheImprovement of the Quality of Life andthe Standard of Services for HandicappedChildren through the Development andGrowth of a Civil Society in Ukraine.”“We try to engage international specialistsin all these fields, by invitingthem to Ukraine to help us develop theseprograms. Providing assistance to theinternat system in Ukraine, for example,is something we have been involved insince 2006. Our hope is that every conference,seminar and roundtable held in aparticular internat will in some wayimprove the quality of a child’s development,”she said.In October 2008, under the aegis of thebroader MATRA project, the Dutch governmentassisted Ms. Kalandiak in developinga program titled “A Basic Coursein Caring for Seriously ChallengedChildren.” The four-day course is dividedinto three basic subtopics: feeding, positioningand recreation. Already undertakenin seven internaty throughout Ukraine,the course was first offered in 2009 in thetown of Znamianka, Kirovohrad Oblast,and produced encouraging results.Presentations by specialistsOver the course of the conference, virtuallyevery aspect related to the problemsof pediatric nutrition, diet and thefeeding of challenged children was coveredby the invited international specialists.Berthold Koletzko, M.D., director ofthe Metabolic and Nutritional MedicineDivision at Children’s Hospital (Munich),and professor of pediatrics at theUniversity of Munich Medical Center,presented lectures on such topics as propercaloric intake, tube-feeding methodsand the cause and effect of stuntedgrowth and low body weight.Vasyl Lonchyna, M.D., a cardiothoracicsurgeon at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospitalof Cook County, Chicago, discussed theproblems associated with pediatric dehydrationin his lecture.Hans Biesalski, M.D., director of theInstitute of Organic Chemistry andNutrition in Stuttgart, Germany, focusedon the importance of proper levels of certainmacro- and micronutrients in pediatricnutrition, particularly underscoring thebenefits of liver in a child’s diet. Dr.Biesalski also demonstrated how nutritionaldeficiencies of iron and zinc in adiet can have a negative influence onpediatric growth.Dr. Tymiak-Lonchyna presented a lectureon the importance of proper dentaland oral hygiene in pediatric healthcare,focusing on what steps to take and whatnot to do when caring for the teeth andgums of a challenged child.Dr. Fishbein, a pediatric gastroenterologistat Children’s Memorial Hospital ofNorthwestern University Medical Centerin Chicago, was one of the specialistswho had the opportunity to visit the internatin Znamianka, immediately prior tothe conference.“I am encouraged by witnessing someof the results in some of the children thatMs. Kalandiak has been working with.For example, her therapeutic skills haveresulted in the fact that some childrenhave reached their desirable weight andhave acquired some skills. Based on thesedevelopments, I feel that I can be of helpin supporting Miss Kalandiak’s endeavor,”stated Dr. Fishbein.As a physician who has worked withphysically and mentally challenged childrenwho have nutrition and feedingproblems, Dr. Fishbein made his firstever visit to Ukraine specifically for theconference, under the personal invitation(Continued on page 19)