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Palomar Health donates medical supplies to Ukrainian hospitals in need

People walking in front of Palomar Medical Center Escondido emergency room, July 1, 2021.
Alexander Nguyen
/
KPBS
People walking in front of Palomar Medical Center Escondido emergency room, July 1, 2021.

As Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, Escondido’s Palomar Health is stepping up to help health care workers treating people in Ukraine.

Palomar Health is working with the U.S. Embassy to identify which hospitals are operational and in need of medical supplies.

The Palomar Health Foundation is donating unused inventory to be shipped to where it is urgently needed.

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“We’ve been trying to do it on a more grassroots level, contacting people on the ground and really not concentrating too much in one area because the situation in Ukraine is very volatile," said Nelly Bulkin, with the Palomar Health Foundation.

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She is helping with the initiative and said the foundation sought to go beyond sending supplies.

Her husband is a doctor with Palomar Health and was born in Ukraine.

“The last phase of our plan is to send out a team of physicians headed by my husband, Dr. Bulkin,” she said.

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Palomar Health donates expired and unused inventory to SSUBI, a San Diego nonprofit that fulfills international medical missions.

SSUBI ensures that donated supplies are not wasted and go to places and people where they are urgently needed.

“As a global organization, our care for the community extends around the world. Health crises know no borders and neither does our responsibility to provide support to those who are suffering," said Laura Luxemburg, the founder of SSUBI.

Those looking to contribute to Palomar Health and SSUBI’s mission in Ukraine can donate on Palomar’s website under “Medical Missions.”

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