Dear Colleagues:
OTA members have always responded in times of need at home and abroad. The current war in Ukraine is no different with many members seeking ways to help. While military casualty figures are unknown, civilian casualties are high and rising on a daily basis.
At present, the OTA is not involved in any formal disaster relief effort. A number of known international aid organizations such as ICRC (Red Cross), Project Hope, MSF (Doctors Without Borders) among many others are working in Ukraine and surrounding countries to provide much needed medical and other assistance. Other potential organizations are listed on this website https://standforukraine.com. Additionally, the AAOS and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) have provided resource lists for assisting Ukraine: AAOS resource summary; ACS resource summary.
The OTA cautions its interested members on travel to Ukraine and adjacent regional areas of conflict unless with a well-established relief organization due to concerns over volunteers’ personal security and safety and desire to minimize inadvertent consumption of critical resources. There is no doubt that the expertise of OTA members will be called upon to help in the recovery of these casualties. We will keep the membership informed of additional opportunities to provide support as we learn of them.
Our thoughts are with the Ukrainian people and we wish for a prompt, peaceful resolution to this war.
Sincerely,
Michael Archdeacon, MD – OTA President
Ted Miclau, MD – Global Relations/International OTA (IOTA) Chair
Roman Hayda, MD – Disaster Management and Emergency Preparedness Committee Chair
Paul Whiting, MD – Humanitarian Committee Chair
