Moscow
Registered Charity
No. 1002469
Hospital in crisis in the Moscow Region
Amongst the poorest in Russian society are the patients in mental hospitals. The Foundation has for the last two years been very involved in assisting patients in the large Moscow region Yakovenko Psychiatric Hospital No. 2 near the town of Chekhov.
This hospital, built at the very beginning of the 20th century, and at that time a model of its kind, was in a very poor state of repair when we first saw it in 1999. We are glad to report that since that time, the local authorities have undertaken major repairs to some of the buildings. All our work in this hospital is carried out in consultation with and with the help of the medical and nursing staff.
With their full approval we first turned out attention to the patients themselves, providing basic and essential help such as extra food, cutlery, dishes and heated food containers. These food warmers are particularly essential, since food has to be transported several kilometres between the kitchen and some of the wards. Food used to be cold or even frozen by the time it was given to patients.
Thanks to generous donations, the St. Gregory's Foundation has now embarked on a programme of renewing sheets, protective rubber sheets, mattresses, pillows, pyjamas and nightdresses in several wards, where the sitiuation was desperate. This hospital contains several geriatric wards, where we are very busy improving the quality of life for the very elderly patients, by providing wheelchairs, commodes etc.
We also aim to improve the quality of the hospital environment by providing paint and brushes to make the wards look clean and cheerful. One of our members gave up his annual holiday last summer in order to start a programme of building urgently needed simple furniture, such as benches for dining rooms and ramps for wheel-chairs. This is an ongoing dynamic programme. All materials and equipment are bought in Russia, thus helping not only the hospital, but the manufacturers of the goods purchased.
The work in this hospital would be impossible without the tireless devotion of the St. Gregory's representatives in Moscow, and the full co-operation of the Hospital staff.