Emergency health and fire

[mendeleyev]

Obviously when traveling in the FSU one can encounter all sorts of emergencies just like anywhere else in the world. This fall I injured my knee in the Moscow Metro, a condition which left me limping for more than a week thereafter. Thankfully it wasn't a long-term injury and I had family there to make sure that I was okay.

In the USA for example if one had an emergency just one phone call to 911 would do the trick. Is that true of everywhere you travel?

Westerners have been pampered with the best health care in the world for decades. But if you had a serious medical emergency in the FSU where would you go and who would you call?

[mendeleyev]

Helpful hint: Anytime you are traveling in the FSU and see an emergency vehicle you'll see a large number painted on each side. In most cases that is the number to call for that sort of emergency.

In the Republic of Georgia you'd call 03 for an ambulance.

The Georgian government seems to prefer Hyundai and Kia ambulances. I didn't even know that that car-maker produced emergency vehicles until recently. I've ridden in the back of a Russian ambulance in the early 2000's but no matter how nice these new vans appear, I'd rather bypass the passenger experience.

Click on the photo below to enjoy the Georgian ambulance view from http://cyxymu.livejournal.com/

[ML]

This has always been a real concern of mine each time I travel to FSU.  But it is such a scary thought, that I mostly push it out of my mind.

There is a so called "American Medical Center" in Kyiv, but I am told it isn't necessarily staffed by Americans or even up to American standards.

I did have a couple of minor problems and some FSU friends took me to local clinics, etc.

Anything serious and I would try to head out as soon as possible for Austria or Germany.  But if I were immobile ?  . . . .

[mendeleyev]

I know of Dr. Richard Styles the Medical Director at the AMC in Kyiv. He is American and Board Certified. Several of the other doctors on staff are American-educated as well but I am not certain about the entire staff.

In Moscow at the American Clinics and the InterMed American Clinic, all doctors are American board certified as most were educated in both the USA and Russia. Several of the Doctors at the InterMed have practice privileges at the Kremlin Hospital, one of the best in Moscow.


The American Medical Centers
http://amcenters.com   

Emergency phone: 044 490 7600
One Berdychivska Street, 04116 Kyiv, Ukraine



Alta-Vista Medical Clinic
Kyiv (Kiev)

пер. Нестеровский, 13/19 (First Nesterovskiy, Bldg 13, #19)
тел:     272-01-79; 272-63-15; 272-63-17

[mendeleyev]

From the Mendeleyev Journal page on Medical Care:


A legitimate concern of travelers and expats is what to expect for emergency or even routine medical care. Fortunately we're living in a modern age and medical care is rapidly improving across the former Soviet Union.

Emergency numbers:
Ambulance - 03              Fire - 01           
Police - 02                      Emergency Rescue - 0911

 

Russia: In the event of an emergency in Moscow, the U.S. Embassy will try to assist in arranging medical care for U.S. citizens. For assistance during working hours, please call 728-5577. After 6:00 p.m., call the Embassy duty officer at 728-5000.


Acceptance of insurance in lieu of prepayment is rare. Most patients pay in cash and receive reimbursement from their insurance companies upon their return to the United States. State medical care is officially free of charge, but the quality of service ranges from unacceptable to merely uncomfortable. However, Russian doctors often demand payment for disposable needles, medications, and some services.



A list of American and European Medical Clinics and Hospitals in Moscow and Kyiv are found at the Mendeleyev Journal link on Medical care. In most cases payment is via monthly membership or payment immediately for services rendered to non-members.

 
If you elect not to go to the American Hospital in Moscow, then you'll likely be taken to to: BOTKINSKY HOSPITAL. This is the main Moscow hospital where foreigners are treated. Well-equipped by Russian standards. Emergency numbers at Botkinsky Hospital:

Внимание код - 8 (499) 762-6191      8 (499) 762-6151
Vtoroy Botkinsky driveway, 5        (Metro Dinamo)
Tel.: (495) 945-00-45, 945-35-19
www.botkinmoscow.ru

Car/Traffic Accidents must be registered with the Moscow Central Internal Affairs Directorate: Тел.: (495) 688-2252     
www.petrovka38.ru

[mendeleyev]

From the Mendeleyev Journal:

Yesterday Prime Minister Vladimir Putin spend a good part of his day on addressing the recent abnormal cold temperatures in certain regions and what local governments are doing to serve Russians in those areas. Emergency Situations directors took part in a video conference, reporting from regions hit with extreme weather conditions.

(Russian Emergency Situations Ministry, Moscow.)

During meeting of the Minister of Emergency Situations, Minister Sergei Shoigu told the Prime Minister, "...we have registered 64 incidents in the communal services, including 35 in housing services and utilities, 23 failures in electricity generation and six transport problems (in Volgograd). Repeated disruptions of the supply of electricity in the Krasnodar Territory have caused the biggest problems. The most recent incidents occurred yesterday and today. All break-downs are being fixed as part of the general effort to deal with the consequences of the storms. Traffic was interrupted on the P-228 motorway in the Murmansk Region and on some roads in the Saratov and Volgograd regions. On the whole the Russian emergency alert system is functioning well. We regularly take warning measures and alert our units. A full-strength task force is currently deployed (in the Murmansk Region) and additional maintenance and installation teams have also been sent there. The priority of these task forces are vehicles that have become trapped or have broken down and large convoys; they help refuel vehicles and keep drivers warm, pull out vehicles that have become stuck and look after drivers."

Mr. Shoigu reported that over 30,000 Russians have been evacuated to temporary shelters so far in the past weeks due to extremely low temperatures and a lack of heat in their apartment buildings. Shoigu also said that regional emergency forces were equipped with stand-by electric power sources, including 3,900 diesel power units on standby if needed. Some of those units have already been in use in the Krasnodar Territory.
 
Meantime Mr. Putin was questioned on his response to negative information regarding his tenure on the Internet, especially from Russian blog sites. Mr. Putin responded by saying, “Negative phenomena exist everywhere, including on the internet, and should not be used as a pretext to limit internet freedom. To prevent this and to enable society to protect itself against these negative phenomena, we must make sure that all actions in this sphere are as transparent as possible and that they are undertaken and worked out together with the internet community.”