Support Ukraine’s Nurses

Tempest is calling for support of this most recent campaign of the Ukraine Solidarity Network (US). The USN (US), is a national network of organizations and individual activists that has embarked on a fundraiser to raise $38,000 for the Ukrainian nurses union. 

The union, Be Like We Are! (Будь як ми!), is trying to raise the funds for the purchase of two medical diagnostic machines in partnership with the Ukrainian-American nonprofit, Kryla.

A previous USN (US) campaign raised more than $6000 for 12 portable generators for members of the Free Trade Union of Railway Workers of Ukraine, Kyiv region, and the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine in Kryvyi Rih. The USN gives unequivocal and unconditional support to Ukraine’s right to self-determination in the face of Russia’s brutal attempt to dismember Ukraine, it does so without giving political support to the Zelensky government. This most recent campaign was launched at the Socialism 2025 Conference.

Despite relentless Russian attacks, the dedication and bravery of Ukrainian doctors and nurses has prevented collapse of Ukrainian healthcare. Healthcare professionals continue to save thousands of lives under brutal wartime circumstances.

Doctors and nurses often work without essential life-saving equipment due to the war, economic collapse spurred by wartime destruction, the Ukrainian government’s neoliberal policies, and to the demands of US and European lenders.

The Ukraine Solidarity Network Asked, “How Can We Help?”

Be Like We Are!, the Ukrainian Nurses Union, answered and requested the purchase of two Mindray BS-430 400tests/Hour Fully Automatic Biochemistry Analyzers for the Mykola Halytskyi Nizhyn Central City Hospital. Nizhyn is a small city in Chernihiv Oblast, approximately 60 miles from the Russian border.

Now, the USN is raising the funds to purchase them.

Biochemistry analyzers are standard equipment in most healthcare facilities. They accurately and rapidly detect life-threatening and other infections and they detect serious conditions such as liver and kidney disease and heart-related problems. Without them, nurses and technicians spend many hours conducting analyses that these machines do in minutes and with fewer errors.

Acquisition of these machines will mean nurses can spend more time directly attending to patient’s needs.

Why Nizhyn Hospital Needs Help

The Mykola Halytskyi Nizhyn Central City Hospital is a crucial multidisciplinary regional cluster hospital with surgical, neurological, trauma, cardiac, pediatric, maternity, and other departments. It serves the entire Nizhyn district. Like many state-run Ukrainian hospitals, it lacks modern equipment needed to deliver proper care especially during wartime.

“We are using an old analyzer that can perform only 20–40 tests per hour. Sometimes it breaks down—tests have to be redone. It also frequently needs repairs, which all adds up to wasted Time,” explains Ivan Korosko, General Director of Nizhyn Hospital. “Every day, about 500 patients receive care at our hospital. There are emergency cases when a high-quality analysis is needed immediately. In those situations, we have to send patients to private laboratories so that the doctor can make an accurate diagnosis.”

What this Desperately Needed Equipment Does

The Mindray BS-430 is a high-throughput automatic biochemistry analyzer that can process 420 to 620  tests per hour. This machine represents a 10-20x increase in capacity over the hospital’s current equipment, dramatically reducing wait times for critical test results.

Help Us Reach Our Fundraising Goal

Each analyzer costs approximately $38,000. Your donation will help provide two of these essential machines and directly support:

•       Faster diagnoses for critically ill patients
•       More efficient use of nurses time, allowing them to focus on patient care
•       Accurate results without the need for retesting
•       Reduced strain on overworked healthcare staff
•       Better healthcare outcomes for an entire district

“We are saddened that a large cluster hospital still lacks a modern analyzer”, says Korosko. “We would be sincerely grateful for such support. New modern analyzer equipment will not only increase the number of tests we can perform but also greatly improve their quality.”

How To Donate & Support “Be Like We Are!” Nurses at Nizhyn Hospital

Donations will be sent via Kryla, a New Orleans-based non-profit group that sends humanitarian aid/medical supplies to Ukraine (https://www.kryla.org/).

Kryla will transmit the funds to the “Be Like We Are” Nurses Union in Ukraine (https://www.uni-europa.org/news/ukrainian-care-workers-organize-in-war/) who will purchase the analyzers in Ukraine. Sending funds to purchase the equipment is more efficient than shipping the equipment from the United States.

All contributions are tax exempt.

They can either be sent to Kryla at:

3014 Dauphine St., Ste. A,
PMB 59294, New Orleans, LA 70117-6755 with “Nizhyn hospital nurses” in the memo line,

OR made through GoFundMe.

Receipts for contributions greater than $250 can be requested at hello@kryla.org.

Thank you for your interest in and contributions to this effort towards practical solidarity with nurses and their patients in Ukraine.

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Opinions expressed in signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the editors or the Tempest Collective. For more information, see “About Tempest Collective.”