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Local Rotarians host medical team from Ukraine
In an impressive display of international cooperation, a 10-member Ukrainian medical team from various regions of war-torn Ukraine including Ki’iv, Mykolaiv, Kharkiv and the Donbas gained a brief respite from their battlefield and hospital duties. They were hosted by local Rotarians.
These dedicated medical professionals – neurosurgeons, primary care physicians, rehab specialists and psychological therapists, accompanied by two facilitator-translators – visited the Bay Area March 15 through 23 for a week of learning at the Palo Alto-Menlo Park VA Hospital’s Polytrauma Center of Excellence. They engaged with their professional counterparts in neurosurgery, acute care, radiology, amputation & prosthetics, poly trauma rehabilitation, occupational therapy and PTSD, with workshop-style learning on patient cases and treatment methods.
The delegation shared stories of the essential medical treatments from the battle frontlines to central hospitals and clinics serving the injured, including spinal cord and traumatic brain injury surgeries, surgical amputations, physical rehabilitations, post-torture psychotherapy, all the while appealing for support for their caring efforts in their home country.
The mission was made possible through the sponsorship of the Congressional Office of International Leadership (COIL) under its ‘Open World’ program, in collaboration with Rotary International. Prior to arriving to our area, the delegation spent two days in Washington, D.C. meeting with U.S. COIL Open World program staff, Congressional staff, U.S. Veterans Administration leadership, as well as with the Ukrainian Embassy.
The Los Altos Rotary Club was honored to host the group. Shaking off the travel fatigue and jet lag upon arrival, the delegation found comradery, solace and comfort in the hospitality of their Los Altos host families that rejuvenated their spirits over their eight-day stay.
Los Altos Rotary Club’s hosting program enabled the delegates to experience the best of the Bay Area in the off-hours from their professional commitments at the VA Hospital complex, including a trip to the Pacific Ocean, the Redwoods at Muir Woods, San Francisco, the Stanford campus, the new visitor centers at Google and Apple and even a local dance studio.
Amidst their busy visit, the group experienced much needed moments of respite and joy, allowing them recharge before returning to Ukraine to face the challenges ahead. This visit helped both the Ukrainians and their Bay Area hosts to reaffirm the belief in the power of human connection.
As the delegation embarked on their long journey home, recharged and rededicated in their mission to bring the best possible medical care and treatment to their fellow countrymen and countrywomen who continue to cope with the horrors of war, the group took time to pay tribute to the hosting Los Altos committee.
In the words of Tetiana Senik, Open World Program Manager, American Councils, Ukraine “Your generosity and kindness truly made us feel at home, providing us with a much-needed sense of comfort during these challenging times of war. It was more to us than just a professional exchange program, it reminded us of what we are fighting for. We eagerly await the day when we can welcome you to a peaceful and prosperous Ukraine!”
Laura Fay, Los Altos
A call for preserving urban forestry in Mountain View
There are potential solutions to the protection, restoration, and enhancement of urban forestry and their ecosystems, and highway vegetation barriers (HVBs), on private lands. These natural resources are rapidly being destroyed by the rapid pace of housing developments that fail to consider the integration of the surrounding natural environment with the development’s footprint during the early project planning and design phases.
City policies need to be changed and to shine a light on the true values and benefits of our natural environment to public health, welfare, environment, and climate. Early engagement by the developer with the community is a key element. Early community engagement is necessary to bring significant community’s issues and concerns before the developer.
Engagement must take place before large investments are made by the developer in project engineering and landscape designs. This provides opportunity for the developer to incorporate these issues and concerns into the conceptual project plan design work.
Two tools in our toolbox that we can focus on in order to build better and smarter housing developments and preserve urban forestry and HVBs are (1) City Policies – changing city policies that require the deeding of land to the city for small parks as a condition of project approval to also include the deeding of land to preserve important natural resources such as urban forests and HVBs, and (2) Conservation Easements.
Daniel Shane, Cypress Point Drive, Mountain View