Model Primary Care Center Opens in Kiev, Ushers in New Era of Family Medicine

The Kiev Family Practice Center, a model primary care facility that will bring healthcare closer to the people of the Kharkiv District of the city, opened its doors October 27 with a ceremony attended by some 100 people, including the Minister of Health of Ukraine, the Mayor of Kiev, and the US Ambassador to Ukraine. The Center's opening marks the culmination of more than one year of collaboration among AIHA's Kiev/Philadelphia partners and another step in the transition from highly specialized medical treatment to primary care.

Members of the Kiev/Philadelphia partnership: (l-r) Matthew Minielly, Temple University graduate assistant; Patricia Deitch, CEO of Delaware Valley Community Health; Volodymyr Zagorodniy, first deputy head of the Kiev City Health Administration and NIS partnership coordinator; Sheryl Ruzek, professor and acting dean of the graduate school at Temple University; Vitaly F. Moskalenko, minister of health of Ukraine; Carlos Pascual, US Ambassador to Ukraine; William A. Aaronson, associate professor of healthcare management at Temple University and US partnership coordinator; Christopher Crowley, head of USAID's Mission in Kiev; Natalie Levkovich, executive director of the Philadelphia Health Federation; Zinaida Klimenko, chief physician at the Kharkiv Polyclinic in Kiev; and Donald Harbick, AIHA associate executive director for partnership programs.

Calling family medicine "a new approach" to healthcare in Ukraine, Minister of Health Dr. Vitaly F. Moskalenko explained that the government is currently exploring viable methods of incorporating its principles into health sector reform.

Vitaly F. Moskalenko explains the Ministry's plans for implementing healthcare reform and transitioning toward primary care during his remarks.

The services offered at the Center exemplify this novel approach and are comprehensive, affordable, accessible to people of all ages, and encompass various aspects of primary care including screening and diagnostic procedures, family planning, prenatal care, and health promotion. In its first year, the Center is expected to serve some 10,500 patients.

In the first official public speaking engagement of his tenure, Carlos Pascual, the newly-appointed US ambassador to Ukraine, echoed Moskalenko's comments noting that the Family Practice Center represents the beginning of a nationwide shift toward community-based primary care. Pascual also stressed the important role such facilities play in teaching people how to take responsibility for their own well-being and make informed decisions regarding health promotion and disease prevention.

During the initial stages of the partnership, community health and social services assessments were performed to determine exactly what services would best meet the needs of those living in the district. Partnership exchanges focused on training in modern primary care screening, clinic management, and a "customer service" approach to healthcare. The integration of mental and behavioral health services into traditional clinical services further distinguishes the facility and much hard work and training went into this aspect of the endeavor (see "Incorporating Behavioral Health Services into Partnership Programs Focus of Kiev Conference" in the October issue of Connections and look for more details in the Fall 2000 issue of CommonHealth).

This bright and cheery examining room at the Kiev Family Medicine Center will help young patients feel comfortable and relaxed.

Partners have adopted a multidisciplinary approach to healthcare and have put together a team that includes physicians, nurses, a psychologist, and a social worker. To promote health education and disease prevention, members of the nursing staff will organize school-based educational outreach programs to encourage healthy lifestyle choices among local children and young adults.

Noting that those seeking treatment—even for minor ailments—previously had to travel to large polyclinics, Nikolai Kiriluk, head of the Kharkiv District Administration, said, "Building this Center is our first step toward meeting the [healthcare] needs of people in our community."

The event attracted the attention of local and national broadcast media as well as journalists from several newspapers and magazines. On the evening of the 27th, a television news show in Kiev reported on a meeting at the city's Department of Healthcare, which focused primarily on the need to implement the family medicine model to a greater extent. In the report,

Reflecting the Ukrainian-American collaboration that made the new primary care center a reality, Vitaly Moskalenko; US Ambassador to Ukraine Carlos Pascual; Nikolai Kiriliuk; and Deputy Head of the Kiev City Administration Valery Bidny cut the ribbon at the Center's opening ceremony.

Olexander Omelchenko, mayor of Kiev, stated that the city is beginning a step-by-step transition to the primary care model and, by 2003, centers of family medicine will be opened in all districts of Kiev.

The medical professionals who will staff these facilities are to be trained at the Kiev Family Practice Center, the second AIHA partner primary care clinic opened in Ukraine this year. The first was opened in Odessa last May through the efforts of the Odessa/Boulder partnership. Centers are also expected to open in the cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, and Uzhgorod in the coming months.

All photos for this story by Anatoly Fedortsiv.

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