Mobile medical teams will be visiting the residents of the villages in Narodychi, Slovechanske, and Olevsk communities to provide primary medical care, psychological support, and social services. As part of the project “Restoring Access to Medical Services in Communities of Zhytomyr Region,” three such mobile medical teams have been established, each consisting of a doctor, a nurse, a psychologist, and a social worker. The first visits are expected to start around January 10 of this year.
“We have already formed mobile medical teams within the framework of a new project in Zhytomyr region, implemented by the NGO ‘In Touch Ukraine Foundation.’ The essence of the project is to restore medical services for residents of remote northern communities in the region. The mobile medical teams will visit the settlements of Narodychi, Slovechanske, and Olevsk communities, where they will organize consultations for local residents, provide medical advice, and conduct screenings for cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, hearing loss, and more,” said Margarita Sirančuk, the project manager.
The NGO “In Touch Ukraine Foundation” is an implementing partner of the USAID project “Innovations to Overcome the HIV Epidemic” in the direction of restoring access to medical services in communities of Zhytomyr region (through the Mobile Medical Teams).
For nine months, the mobile medical teams (MMT) will visit various settlements in the northern communities of the region to restore access to medical services for local residents. The MMTs will be equipped with medical devices for examinations, such as cholesterol-glucose meters, dermatoscopes, tuning forks, electrocardiographs, audiometers, spirometers, peak flow meters, portable ultrasound devices, reusable pediatric equipment, sets of oropharyngeal airways, automatic external defibrillators, pulse oximeters, blood pressure monitors for children and adults, otoscopes, ophthalmoscopes, and optometric kits.
Composition of the MMTs:
- Primary care doctor
- Nurse or paramedic
- Social worker
- Psychologist
- Driver
Key services provided by MMTs include screenings for:
- Diabetes
- Cardiovascular diseases
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- Hearing loss
Additional services provided by MMTs:
- Instrumental diagnostics, including electrocardiography, peak flowmetry/spirometry, otoscopy, ophthalmoscopy, and vision acuity measurement
- Monitoring the health of pregnant women with uncomplicated pregnancies and (if necessary) referring them to an obstetrician-gynecologist
- Dynamic health monitoring using physical, laboratory, and instrumental methods of examination according to healthcare standards
- Diagnosing and treating common infectious diseases, injuries, poisonings, and pathological and physiological conditions
- Conducting ultrasound examinations
Social and psychological services provided may include:
- Providing primary psychological assistance
- Counseling and diagnosing the psychological state of patients, with referrals to specialists if needed
- Identifying families, children, and youth in difficult life circumstances, as well as elderly people, individuals with disabilities, and other socially vulnerable groups in need of social support and services
- Organizing timely assistance to families, children, and youth through cooperation with local government departments, educational institutions, healthcare facilities, law enforcement, NGOs, and other organizations
- Ensuring coordination and interaction of families in difficult life circumstances, each of their members with social service providers until their problems are fully resolved, including providing information and counseling services
- Conducting screenings for gender-based violence and depression
During patient examinations, MMT members may conduct the following tests: HIV/AIDS, hepatitis B and C, pregnancy tests, blood glucose tests, blood cholesterol tests, multi-component urine tests, D-dimer tests, C-reactive protein tests, rapid strep tests in children, and troponin tests.