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Program supported by the Ford Foundation

News, August 2009

First published in: Vestnik Terneya Newspaper 15 August 2009 # 93

Project Outcomes

In our previous issue we wrote about the modernization of the boiler plant in the hospital complex of Plastun settlement. This was a joint project of the administration of Terneisky Municipality and the public organizations Uragus and Rynda with financial support from the regional budget and the Ford Foundation.

  Notwithstanding the high cost of the reconstruction phase of the project, in the future it will allow to save considerable funds for the municipal budget.

  Another advantage of this effort is the improved environment.  During fuel combustion, harmful gases are emitted to the atmosphere. After the conversion of the boiler plant from the use of diesel fuel to the use of wood, the following hazardous emissions were reduced: sulphur dioxide – by 2 times, nitrogen oxide – by 2.3 times and  carbonic oxide – by 3.4 times. At the same time, the share of utilized wood waste will grow significantly.

  The third outcome of the project may be quite unexpected, and we shall describe it in greater detail. When the municipal authorities were planning to reduce costs associated with operating the boiler plant, they decided to reinvest savings into the local health care system. Without waiting for the saved funds to start coming in, two new vacancies of a doctor and nurse were filled in advance at the local hospital. This was not a mere staff increase, but a step toward broadening the specter of medical services provided to the community.

  Last year, with funds accumulated by the medical insurance company AlfaGarant (three million rubles), equipment for diagnosing and treating urogenital diseases with the use of the lithotripsy method (from the Greek lito-stone and tripsy-crushing) was acquired. This equipment is unique, and even the regional hospital does not have it. Only several clinics in Vladivostok use it.

  A specially trained health care professional must operate this equipment, and Plastun hospital has such a specialist. Andrei Cherkhanov, a surgeon specializing in lithotripsy, underwent training in clinics in the regional capital, Moscow and St.Petersburg. He has already successfully performed several such operations in Plastun.

  The question arises: why was this unique equipment installed in the raion hospital, while not every regional hospital has it? The answer is that in Terneisky raion there is a high percentage of patients suffering from kidney and bladder stone diseases. When a stone starts to move, it may shut a urinary tract and obstruct the kidney’s ability to clear the blood from toxic substances and cause it to degrade. If a patient is not provided with emergency medical help, he or she may lose a kidney. But the problem is that the more northward a populated center is located, the harder it is to quickly bring a person to a hospital in the regional capital.

  The new equipment in Plastun hospital not only allows to conduct  broad medical examinations of the urogenital system, during which a whole range of pathological conditions is identified, such as stones, polyps and  tumors, but also perform histology analysis and endoscopic operations. For example, a stone in the bladder or ureter may be removed or destroyed. If the position of the stone is high and it is impossible to eliminate it by using this method, a stent is installed, which is a special tube for urine outflow. This way the danger of loosing a kidney is eliminated and a patient can be brought to a medical center in the regional capital for further treatment. Thanks to the new equipment, it also became possible to examine pregnant women and operate them without causing harm either to them or to the fetuses.

  Previously, kidney and bladder surgery in the raion hospital was only performed in cases of life threatening emergencies. These operations required large surgical incisions and the period of rehabilitation could take from six months and longer. The methods used by Andrei Chekhanov are much more sparing: he inserts probes through natural body openings and most of his patients check out of hospital the next day.

  Today scheduled operations in Plastun are free (the cost of each is up to 20 000 rubles), while the cost of unscheduled operations is covered by the patients. In the future, the hospital in Plastun will offer lithotripsy treatment to patients not only from Terneisky raion, but from Dalnegorsky, Kavalerovsky and Olginsky raions as well.

  When asked about his opinion about the modernization of the raion hospital complex’s boiler plant, Vladimir Izgorodin, chief physician of the hospital and chairperson of the raion legislation, said: “Of course, six-million-ruble savings is a large sum for the municipal budget. It is wonderful that investment is made into the development of the public health system. It is also important that as a result of this project, the environment will be bettered. I also hope that it will be warm and comfortable in our wards and medical offices.”

  Galina Maximova, project coordinator from Uragus environmental NGO
vestnik.terney.info
www.uragus.ru