09/17/2026
A SPECIAL HONOR FOR UMANA
We are deeply honored that the Ukrainian Medical Association of North America
(UMANA) will receive the Certificate of Merit from the Order of Saint Panteleimon,
recognizing our service to Ukraine and the Ukrainian people.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022, UMANA responded
almost immediately. By the second day of the war, UMANA had mobilized a Medical
Relief Task Force, bringing together physicians, chapters, volunteers, donors, and
partners across North America to provide urgently needed medical assistance to
Ukraine.
✈️ In March 2022, UMANA’s first of 4 humanitarian cargo planes departed with
approximately 350 tons of critical medical aid. The supplies traveled through Poland and
onward to Ukraine in coordination with Ukraine’s Ministry of Health.
Additional air shipments quickly followed, carrying medications, surgical supplies,
emergency equipment, and even an ambulance. The Ukrainian Ministry of Health
publicly acknowledged UMANA’s role in organizing these shipments and distributing the
aid to hospitals serving areas most affected by the war.
But UMANA’s mission did not stop with those first emergency flights.
Over the past four and a half years, UMANA and the UMANA Foundation have built a
continuing medical lifeline to Ukraine. More than $3.16 million in monetary donations
has been raised for medical relief, along with several million dollars in donated supplies
and equipment. UMANA reports that medications and medical supplies with an
estimated value of $25 million have reached regions throughout Ukraine.
Our chapters and partners have provided everything from surgical instruments,
medications, audiometers, wound-care supplies, and orthopedic equipment to 2,800
CAT tourniquets, portable ultrasound machines, C-arm fluoroscopy equipment,
sterilizers, orthopedic fixators, gas and solar generators, and other lifesaving
equipment.
UMANA helped deliver nearly 300 IFAKs and hundreds of wound VAC systems for
Ukrainian defenders, supported specialized treatment for war-related hearing loss,
supplied equipment for hospitals in Kharkiv and other regions, and continued supporting
orthopedic trauma care through the purchase of components for external fixators.
Our work has continued long after the first months of the invasion. In 2026, surgical
instruments sent from Chicago through Poland reached frontline hospitals and hot
zones in eastern Ukraine, where Ukrainian physicians are using them to perform
surgeries and save lives. Bronchoscopes and antibiotic resistance kits were sent to a
hospitals for children in Lviv. Recently a 500 gallon potable water tank was purchased
and is on the way to a hospital in the east.
UMANA has also worked beyond humanitarian shipments — supporting telemedicine,
medical education, physician collaboration, advocacy, and partnerships connecting
Ukrainian and North American healthcare professionals and institutions.
This recognition belongs to every UMANA physician and member, every chapter, donor,
volunteer, hospital, organization, and partner who answered Ukraine’s call.
What began as an emergency response in February 2022 has become a long-term
commitment: to save lives, support Ukrainian physicians, strengthen hospitals, educate
the next generation, and help rebuild the future of Ukrainian medicine.
���� We invite our members, friends, partners, volunteers, donors, and the entire
Ukrainian community to join us in Chicago and share this special moment with UMANA.
�� Ukrainian Cultural Center, Chicago
�� September 26
�� 5:30 PM — Reception
��️ 6:30 PM — Dinner & Award Ceremony
��️ Tickets: $100 at the door (check or cash only)
We share this honor with everyone who has stood with us. Our work continues.
