Healthbridge helps those serving Ukrainian refugees

Thanks to its solid foundation in Romania, Healthbridge Global was well-positioned to contribute toward caring for refugees from neighboring Ukraine.

“Because Romania started receiving hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees,” Jon says, “our doctors in Romania started responding. They reached out to us and said, ‘These are the needs. Can you help?’” said Healthbridge founder and Samaritan Ministries member Jon Hallsted.

With refugees pouring over the border, Healthbridge helped with medical supplies, equipment, transportation, and basic humanitarian aid.

“The doctors on the ground led that effort,” Jon says.

The focus shifted as the number of refugees arriving in Romania slowed and many started returning to Ukraine. However, they didn’t necessarily go home. Rather, they were being housed in small, rural Ukrainian towns nea Romania. Those communities not set up to house three to four times their normal populations.

“Most of the people were living in schools, cafeterias, things like that, and the hospitals which were there to care for four or five thousand people are now trying to care for their own plus another 14,000 displaced people,” Jon said.

“The needs have shifted even a little bit more to where it’s not always medical supplies that they need right now. The last thing that we helped purchase were backup batteries” for surgery facilities.