DES MOINES, Iowa — Since Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, more than 25,000 civilians have been killed or injured, according to the Office of The High Commissioner For Human Rights At The United Nations.
The World Health Organization says right now, medical care in Ukraine is also difficult to access. However, two Des Moines doctors are working to bring life-saving medical supplies to Ukraine.
Iowa and Ukraine are an ocean apart, but that's not stopping Dr. Chad Becker from building a bridge.
"So Ukraine reminds me a lot of Iowa actually, it's very similar,” Becker said. “They are a huge farming country, they export tons of grain."
Becker and his father have made two trips to Ukraine since Russia invaded the country in February 2022. The father-son duo have brought needed medical supplies to the country, including depreciated ultrasound machines donated by Des Moines University.
Becker said the trips are humbling experiences.
"So, we actually dropped the supplies off on the front lines,” Becker said. “And we can actually see over the river where the Russian front was. And then from there, we did a couple more drops on the frontlines to different soldiers."
Becker’s work is aided by others, like Dr. Thomas Benzoni, who helps collect and sort donated medical supplies. Benzoni said here in the U.S., the medical materials hospitals and health care institutions buy are marked with an out date.
"By law, they can't use it past that out date,” Benzoni said. “So, what they're doing is collecting unsorted supplies that are outdated and giving them to myself or to Dr. Becker. And we're sorting through and he's deciding what can be best used in Ukraine."
Benzoni said the supplies are still usable past their out date and can be put to good use in Ukraine
"There is a tremendously important part, the humanitarian part, the part of taking care of those in need,” Benzoni said. “That's a basic concept to all physicians and to anybody in the health care community."
For Becker, the work is a reminder that everyone deserves help in times of strife.
"It's just important because it's a very small world, it seems big, but it's really not,” he said. “And so people are people wherever you go. And it's nice to help people just in different areas when we can because we're very fortunate here to have what we have in the infrastructure that we have."
That infrastructure is now supporting a bridge between two worlds, with care. Benzoni and his wife, fellow physician Noreen O’Shea, also hosted two Ukrainian physicians during a visit to Iowa in 2020.
Those doctors toured various health centers, learning about health care delivery in America. They even met then-presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Benzoni said they've stayed in contact with those doctors to keep up with ongoing medical needs.