The Summer’s over, so let’s wrap the season up with an August report.
Mobile clinic
We went out 23 times to 28 spots, where homeless people can get food and shelter, and we assisted 209 patients 148 times. We dressed 68 wounds, and we had to call an ambulance two times.
Charity Hospital is the winner of the international #МЫВМЕСТЕ (#WeAreTogether) award, and that money “fuels” our Mobile clinic.
Accessible communications
Thanks to our joint project with Club Kinoniya, our patients got to use phones for 25 minutes in August.
Medical assistance in shelters
We visited Malta’s shelter 9 times, we examined 21 patients 37 times in total. Dressed 12 wounds. We had to call an ambulance 3 times.
Glasses
We gave out 15 pairs of glasses, one of which was made specifically to fit our ward. 5 patients visited an optometrist this month.
Tests
8 homeless people with symptoms of cold got an express test for COVID-19 antigens, two tests came back positive. We also tested 22 patients for HIV, tested 25 patients for hepatitis B and hepatitis C, tested 23 people for syphilis, 2 more people got serological tests for syphilis (we did this in collaboration with the city’s dermatovenereological dispensary), and we tested 19 patients for blood sugar level.
Medico-social support
Charity Hospital’s staff and volunteers helped patients get help:
- 1 person got registered at an AIDS Center
- 1 patient got registered at a detoxification facility
- 2 people got dental help
- 2 patients got help in a trauma center
- 3 people got a chance to consult with specialists in state clinics
- 2 people got their IDs restored (with assistance from Kinoniya)
- 3 people got their hair cut
- 3 people got remote consultations
Outreach
Sometimes, the only way to help a desperate homeless person, who doesn’t know where to get help, is to bring help to them. That’s what our doctors, volunteers and friends do with our outreach program. We give people clean clothes and medicine, and we tell them, where they can get food and shelter for free. We reached out to one person in August: we examined them, and we called an ambulance for them.
Humanitarian help
We gave out the following goods last month: 1 subway token, 4 life packs, 1 mobile phone and a SIM card to go with it, 1 walking cane and 1 pregnancy test for a homeless lady.
SepaRight waste collection
We were at 9 SepaRight waste collection spots this month, where people donated medicines to us.
Sharing experience
From August 19th to the 21st, Charity Hospital participated in the festival of social initiatives, which was held at The Good Place. We hosted a medical master class, which was titled “Blood pressure and sugar: Let’s figure this out”, where participants could learn how to measure blood pressure and sugar level. Furthermore, our traumatologist Nika Bulavinova gave a talk on helping homeless people, and guests of the festival got an opportunity to buy our merch (t-shirts, shoppers, sticker packs, pins and postcards) and donate glasses they didn’t need to homeless people.
Interactions with the government
We sent two complaints to the local authorities about homeless patients’ healthcare rights violations: an emergency room refused to put a cast on a homeless person with a broken bone, and an ophthalmologist refused to examine a homeless woman with an eye contusion, who reported reduced visual acuity after a trauma.
We sent the required documents to the Committee of property relations, so that we can get a space for our medico-social center, rent-free. We expect a decision on this matter in October.
Also this August:
Charity Hospital got a spot on the crowdfunding platform “Take the opportunity”, hosted by the “Need help” foundation. Now everybody, who wants to support us, can start a fundraiser dedicated to a birthday, a wedding, a party, a tour or just to raise money! And “Take the opportunity” will transfer these funds to us with no fees. You can start a fundraiser here.
Sobaka.ru released a story about our doctors’ work. We told them about how our Mobile clinic operates, about interesting clinical cases and our plans to open a multidisciplinary medical center and a social shelter for homeless people in Saint Petersburg.
On August 7th, Elizabeth Yuhnyova portrayed a painting during a live stream, dedicated to Charity Hospital. Liza is a volunteer and an old friend of ours with an astonishing hobby: she recreates well known pieces of art using herself and materials at hand, and she posts the end-results as photos on her blog. She live-streamed her transformation, and during this stream, viewers could ask her questions about volunteering and art, and they could also donate to Charity Hospital.
The “Faith” radio station ran a story about Charity Hospital during their program “Business of the day”.
Thank you, friends!
