According to Olha Melnyk, deputy head of Khodorivska amalgamated hromada, the desire of people to improve the quality of medical services was one of the reasons why local residents amalgamated in the Khodorivska hromada.

“There are three hospitals in the Khodorivska hromada, with two of them having a complete secondary level,” said Olga Melnik. “One of them, Khodoriv Rayon Hospital, could simultaneously serve 120 patients on an inpatient basis, but it did not have all the departments. We carried out a rather painful reorganisation of this medical institution, having downsized over 80 employees. However, we kept all doctors’ wage-rates, and immediately opened three new departments and several intensive care wards. After that, we began to work in a new way, counting every coin. The hospital is the social component in which we have invested most of funds, moral and physical efforts.

According to Olha Melnyk, the reorganised hospital currently employs 65 doctors, 150 nurses and 50 junior nurses. This hospital has 3 outpatient clinics and 24 rural health posts.

“We analyse the work of all outpatient clinics: whether all of the settlements covered by these outpatient clinics are within 15-kilometre accessibility, whether additional cars are needed there, or whether repairs and equipment are needed,” continues Olha Melnyk. “The Khodorivska hromada includes 42 settlements, so we consider it to be a positive moment that only 3 out of 34 employees of rural health posts have to travel to their work place. Employees of the rural health posts should live in the village with no need to travel to work in order to provide urgent medical assistance at any time of the day, if necessary. This was one of our requirements in the course of reorganisation of the healthcare sector.”

Olha Melnyk noted that the Khodorivska hromada will not reduce the healthcare network and will continue to work on provision of its high-quality personnel and technical support.

The educational domain of the hromada will soon face changes as well. After all, education consumes half of 156 million UAH of the hromada’s consolidated budget. Only 2 400 students study in 25 Khodoriv schools. The hromada has recently decided to establish a hub school.

The deputy head of the AH also said that the hromada has recently agreed to co-finance the current repairs of the 45 temples located on its territory. According to Ms Melnyk, local authorities will thus contribute to the strengthening of spirituality in the Khodorivska amalgamated hromada.

The conversation took place within the framework of the “Spokepersons of Hromadas” – a joint project of the Ukrainian Crisis Media Center and the DOBRE Programme.