“In our unit, we received an extra-class ventilator. It’s an outstanding machine – top-tier,” Dr Halushchak says. “They also gave us hospital beds – just amazing. Patients are very satisfied because the beds are fully mobile. They can raise and lower themselves, adjust into any position they need. Absolutely ideal. We got new electrocautery units for the operating room, and a Mindray anesthesia station – that one’s a real gem. And that’s just the recent equipment installed in my department.”
Dr Anatolii Yaroslavovych Halushchak has been leading the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care for Polytrauma at Mechnykov Hospital in Dnipro, Ukraine, since 2019.
The hospital is one of Ukraine’s most vital medical institutions and has treated over 41 000 wounded patients since the start of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation. The European Union (EU), in partnership with WHO, provided the intensive care unit (ICU) with ten specialized beds and other equipment, such as a ventilator, to treat patients in critical condition, often suffering from complex blast and war-related injuries.
The equipment is part of broader support from the EU and WHO to treat trauma and polytrauma in Ukraine by providing health supplies and capacity-building training sessions to health workers across all war-affected regions of the country.
Handling the unpredictable
With crucial support from the EU and WHO, health workers at Mechnykov Hospital continue to save lives, despite ongoing threats and attacks on the hospital infrastructure.
One of the most devastating moments came on 25 October 2024, when a missile exploded just 30 metres from the hospital. Over 500 windows shattered. Operations were underway and doctors sustained minor injuries from glass shards. Still, they didn’t stop.
“We moved critical patients to safe areas, cleared out broken glass and debris and immediately started repairs. Our goal was to restart the operating theatres as soon as possible,” Dr Halushchak recalls.
From the early days of war to the full-scale invasion of 2022, Mechnykov Hospital has been a lifeline for trauma patients, especially those with polytrauma or complex, multi-system injuries. Operating theatres have rarely rested. Words like burnout or fatigue don’t appear in Dr Halushchak’s vocabulary. When he talks about his job, a spark lights up his eyes. “In the OR [operating room], teamwork is everything. We operate like one body. Sometimes, a glance is all it takes to know whether to raise or lower the pressure. That’s when things click.”
Working with a team of over 70 professionals, including anesthesiologists, nurses and orderlies, Dr Halushchak points out that they are all trained to handle the unpredictable. “Most of our team has been here since 2014. Our nurses, for example, are highly versatile. They work in ORs, ICUs and wards, wherever they’re needed. We’ve added young doctors along the way, but the core stays. It’s a family.”
Innovation and resilience
Founded in 1798, Mechnykov Hospital is one of the oldest medical institutions in Ukraine.
The legendary surgeon and medical pioneer Mykola Pyrohovis is believed to have operated within its walls. He revolutionized battlefield medicine by formalizing triage, developing antiseptic techniques and introducing plaster casting for fractures. That legacy of innovation and resilience lives on today.
Dr Halushchak’s own department specializes in polytrauma – one of the most challenging areas of modern medicine. Every operation is unique. Whether it’s removing shrapnel from the brain or preserving a mangled limb, the goal is the same: save lives, preserve dignity and help patients return to something resembling normalcy.
“These are injuries to multiple organ systems: the brain and abdomen, the chest and skeleton. Every case is different. Every combination is new.”
“We have over 40 operating rooms, and all of them are active. Some surgeons perform more than 50 procedures a month. That’s five times more than in peacetime. We’ve transfused nearly 22 tonnes of blood for the wounded during this time. Shifts here don’t end on schedule – they end when the last patient has been operated on. During the early stages of the war, many staff members, including surgeons and nurses, stayed at the hospital for days at a time. Mechnikov’s general director, Serhii Ryzhenko, remains on-site 24/7 to this day,” says Dr Halushchak.
“There was a journalist,” Dr Halushchak recalls. “Before he came to us, no one expected him to survive. But we operated. We brought him back from the edge. And now? He’s on TV again, giving interviews – just like I’m doing now with you.”
Staying strong
Dr Halushchak’s own path to medicine started early. “I don’t remember what exactly led me to it,” he says, “but I do remember that, by fifth grade at school, I knew I would be a doctor. My parents were a miner and an economist, so this wasn’t a family profession. But I knew.”
While his role comes with the weight of leadership, you’ll still find him scrubbed in, practicing as a full-time anesthesiologist. “Of course! If you lose touch with practice, you lose your qualification,” he says, matter-of-factly.
And yes, he still finds time to learn. “You can never say you know it all in medicine. There’s always more to learn. We received training from the WHO in Kyiv. It was focused on organizing evacuations during emergency and mass casualty situations. They gave us a lot of useful information – it was incredibly helpful.”
Working 18-hour shifts, living at the hospital during peak crises, operating during missile attacks – this is the frontline of health care in Ukraine. “Psychologically, it’s hard,” Halushchak admits. “But we cannot relax. We lead by example. If we stay strong, our team stays strong. This is our battlefield, and we must win.”