Ulyana Suprun biography. Citizen Suprun

Ulyana Suprun, an American and Maidan volunteer, headed the Ministry of Health on August 1, 2016, at the personal invitation of Petro Poroshenko.

After this appointment, one might think that the social elevator in our country had started working - a simply responsible and proactive person came to power, aimed at reforming the corrupt system. However, this is nothing more than an attempt by the current government to put in the “hot” seat a person outside the system who does not understand the basics of management in healthcare.

The little-known minister Ulyana Suprun seems like a saint compared to the rest, but there are blemishes in her biography.

Made in USA

Ulyana Nadiya Suprun (nee Yurkiv) was born in Detroit (USA) in 1963. She has Ukrainian roots. Ulyana’s grandmother, Maria Voloshchuk, originally from Volyn, was an active participant in the liberation movement of 1930-1940 in Ukraine.

Grandfather - Ivan Yurkiv was a lieutenant in the UPR army (1919). At the beginning of World War II, he appeared as the “commandant of the Ukrainian police.” Since the Germans did not have “commandants”, then, most likely, we are talking about the “Ukrainian police”, which was created in the OUN in the summer-autumn of 1941. The activist's family immigrated after World War II to West Germany and then to the United States. In the USA, Suprun’s father, George Yurkiv, began buying and selling shares. Profitable deals allowed him to become a shareholder and vice president of North American Controls (production of military equipment) and provide his children with a comfortable future.

Ulyana Suprun was brought up in a national-patriotic spirit. The girl went to a Ukrainian school and church, and was a member of the Plast scout organization. Parents brought their daughter to Ukraine for the first time when she was 11 years old. After that, they came to their homeland several more times.

Ulyana Nadiya received her education at the Medical College of the University of Michigan (that is, her education is not higher, but let’s say, basic!). In 1989, she became a certified radiologist in the field of breast diagnostics. By the way, the cost of training in this specialty is 450 thousand dollars, so it is available only to the children of the rich. Additionally, Suprun studied radiology at Henry Ford Hospital, while heading its “women’s” department, and Sinai Grace Hospital. Speaking in our language, the current minister is a radiologist. In our country, the profession is not very profitable, but in America it is a highly paid position (X-rays in the USA cost from 300 to 500 dollars) with a minimum of responsibility.

After graduating, Ulyana Nadiya meets her future husband Marco, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, and they move to New York. Ulyana gets a job as a radiologist in a private clinic.

In addition, the young couple leads an active social life - they take part in various kinds of pro-Ukrainian projects.

In 1990, Ulyana became a member of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America, which unites the Ukrainian diaspora in 44 countries. During this period, the couple regularly comes to Ukraine on various missions - humanitarian and intellectual. In 1992, they even celebrated the second anniversary of the country's independence in the capital. On this visit, the family encountered Ukrainian medicine for the first time in their lives. Marco's appendix became inflamed. The operation was performed in the capital. According to Ulyana Suprun, she was struck by the difference between the medical services provided in Ukraine and in America.

From 1995 to 2013, the volunteer was a member of the Ukrainian Youth Union in New York, where for two years he headed the Council for the provision of humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians. Her other position is president of the Ukrainian-American Civil Liberties Association.

In 2000, Suprun and a colleague founded the Medical Imaging of Manhattan clinic in central New York. The medical institution specializes in radiology of women's diseases - mammography, ultrasound, biopsy.

This is something like a very large, cool and expensive “diagnostic office”, of which there are so many now in Ukraine: everyone only diagnoses, but no one treats. The clinic was doing well, because Americans have an unspoken belief that they need to undergo all examinations regularly. Now let’s multiply the part of the population of the Big Apple by the average cost of the service of 300-500 dollars. It turns out to be a tidy sum. Ulyana headed the “diagnostic office” for 8 years.

From this we conclude that Suprun did not study or work in tactical medicine. Her areas of focus are laboratory and diagnostic work.

In 2004, volunteer spouses actively supported the Orange Revolution from America. They were the main organizers of rallies and demonstrations of Ukrainian Americans in Washington and New York. The couple was also responsible for the information component - they explained the events in Ukraine to American journalists, politicians and congressmen.

After the “orange” victory, Ulyana Suprun was finally able to delve into scientific activities. In 2006, her co-authored scientific publication entitled “Radiation-associated extraskeletal osteosarcoma of the chest wall” was published. Let’s make a reservation that after the Orange Revolution and until the Euromaidan of 2013, Ulyana and Marko were not eager to help Ukraine. Their volunteer activities died out, and rather turned into nominal membership in all Committees and Unions.

In 2012, the Suprun family sold their house in New York and quit their profitable business to fulfill their dream of traveling the world. In a year they traveled half the world. In 2013, shortly before the Maidan, the couple began to look at Ukraine as a permanent place of residence. Before this, they really wanted to live in London. The plans were upended by the dispersal of students in the square. Ulyana arrived in Ukraine first, a month after the start of Euromaidan, then Marco arrived.

Volunteers on the Maidan and politics

During the 2014 Revolution, the Suprun couple found themselves in their element - Marco worked with foreign journalists, made documentaries, and Ulyana became a volunteer for the Maidan Medical Service. She helped wounded Maidan protesters and was present during heated clashes. Only her experience was not enough to provide qualified assistance to the wounded. Suprun herself does not hide this. She has repeatedly said that such assistance should be provided by people with a different level of appropriate training. She does not hide another fact - the fact that she could not help the wounded soldier, who later died.

After such statements from an American doctor, for the sake of appearance it was necessary to create something volunteer. And Suprun and her husband in the spring of 2014 quietly decided to create a volunteer public organization “Defense of Patriots”.

Ulyana began looking for military doctors and tactical medicine experts for training. Naturally, such specialists were found in America. For the first students of tactical medicine courses, she brought experts from the California Center for Disaster Medicine, doctors, and trainers who worked in “hot spots.” Now about the courses themselves: for the military they last 3 days, for doctors of special forces - 7 days. As volunteers say, this time is enough to turn an inexperienced person into half a doctor. Undoubtedly, for the poorly prepared Ukrainian army of the spring of 2014, even such courses based on NATO standards were life-saving.

“Protection of Patriots” provided Ukrainian fighters with improved individual first aid kits to NATO standard. The family of volunteers collected money for the purchase of humanitarian supplies abroad - in Canada and America. 11 thousand life-saving kits were delivered to the ATO zone, costing $100 each. Of course, not every fighter received first aid kits. Suddenly, the volunteer began to speak out sharply about the soldiers’ use of the hemostatic drug Celox. Then it was actively purchased in order to more or less provide the soldiers with medicines. Suprun called Celox life-threatening and began advertising a drug with a similar effect - Quiclot, which has been used in the NATO army since 2008. However, there was no replacement of drugs.

In mid-2014, Ulyana Suprun became the director of humanitarian initiatives at the Ukrainian World Congress.

Let us note that the volunteer family communicates closely with representatives of the Right Sector.

In July 2015, President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree granting Ukrainian citizenship to Ulyana Suprun and her husband “as persons whose admission to Ukrainian citizenship is of state interest.”

During the meeting, a volunteer handed Poroshenko a first aid kit and offered to take a course in tactical medicine. A few months later, Suprun becomes a freelance consultant to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health Issues. It is clear that this appointment was necessary for further climbing the career ladder.

Ulyana Suprun perfectly combined her activities at BP with her work at the Ukrainian Catholic University (UCU) in Lviv. She became the director of the School of Rehabilitation Medicine. It trains physical therapists (specialists in movement development) and occupational therapists (providing assistance to a person in daily life).

Ministerial life

A year after being granted Ukrainian citizenship, Ulyana Suprun receives another gift from the President - an offer to work in the Ministry of Health. Ulyana agrees.

On July 22, 2016, the volunteer becomes the First Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine (for ATO issues), and 5 days later she is appointed acting Minister of Health, replacing the dismissed Alexander Kvitashvili. Let us note that before the Ukrainian American, the minister’s chair was offered to 15 officials, but they all refused, citing the fact that everything had already been stolen by the “predecessors.” This appointment is extremely beneficial for the Ukrainian government: they respected the Americans, and once again gave hope to their fellow citizens, they say, a smart American aunt has come and will cure everyone. Moreover, Petro Poroshenko himself did not try to seat “his own man” in the chair, of whom, of course, there is a whole line. He unquestioningly gave the position to a “foreign cadre.”

So, on August 1, 2016, Ulyana Suprun was introduced to the general public as the new head of the Ministry of Health. By the way, they didn’t even wait for the end of the people’s deputies’ vacation to “bring the newly-minted minister into the public eye.”

An incident occurred at the first briefing of the head of the Ministry of Health. It turned out that Suprun has little understanding of what is happening in Ukrainian medicine and confuses the vaccine and the serum. Then everyone was hearing about the outrageous case of a little girl from the Dnieper who fell ill with tetanus. The disease progressed, the child began to have convulsions, and no anti-tetanus serum was found in the entire city. The whole world was looking for her - through social networks and people's deputies. Fortunately, the drug was found. Tetanus serum became a national problem that was solved by the whole world. It is logical that at the briefing Suprun was asked questions regarding this situation. However, the minister's answer was, to put it mildly, surprising. Ulyana prioritized the fact that the child was not vaccinated and promised to personally check the availability of tetanus vaccines in the regions. And then she launched into ephemeral discussions on the topic of vaccination and parents’ ignorance of the importance of vaccinations. Apparently, Suprun was not aware that there are simply no vaccines in Ukraine. Moreover, it was not about vaccinations, but about a vaccine, about anti-tetanus serum, which was not available in the country.

Moreover, at the briefing, Ulyana Suprun did not present a program for reforming the medical industry, as newly appointed ministers usually do. She promised to announce reforms sometime in the fall.

American medical car

Let us remind you that the government set before Suprun a task that it itself could not solve in a quarter of a century of independence - to reform the healthcare system, offering something new to Ukrainian society. And the American volunteer surprised everyone.

Law on donor transplantation. At a briefing about her appointment, Suprun told a touching story about how her good friend in America has been waiting for a transplant for 16 years. She also assured everyone that, as part of state policy, she would lobby for a law on donor transplantation in Ukraine. The ground has already been prepared for this. In April, the Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 2386a-1 in the first reading, allowing organ transplantation from deceased people if they gave consent during their lifetime. The authors are people's deputies Olga Bogomolets and Oksana Korchinskaya.

The essence of Suprun’s bill is the presumption of consent: if a citizen during his lifetime did not write a statement prohibiting the taking of organs and/or other anatomical materials, then it is considered that he provided such consent “by default.” In short, after death, the body of any Ukrainian can be used as organs for those in need. Naturally, such a law is adopted not in favor of sick fellow citizens who simply cannot afford such operations, but for the sake of providing biological material to patients of foreign transplant clinics.

The document has already been agreed upon with the administration of President Poroshenko, and representatives of the Ministry of Health have begun work on creating a coordination center for transplantology. And the most egregious thing: the Cabinet of Ministers is ready to increase funds for sending patients for organ transplants abroad.

Testing foreign drugs on Ukrainians. 2 weeks after her appointment, Ulyana Suprun issued order No. 835 “On conducting clinical trials of drugs and approving significant amendments,” according to which foreign-made drugs for cancer, schizophrenia, rheumatoid arthritis, pulmonary diseases and pneumonia will be tested on Ukrainians.

New drugs have been developed in the USA, France, and Switzerland. The drugs will be tested not only on adults, but also on children. The document provides for 97 requests for clinical trials. Ukrainian officials rejected only 2 - testing a drug for psoriasis and a children's drug for depression (from Russia and Denmark); 16 experiments were allowed unconditionally, and 80 were asked to make some changes. The test subjects included: Kharkov, Zaporozhye, Poltava, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Vinnitsa, Kherson regions.

Thus, Ukrainians become guinea pigs, since they are not warned about testing. According to the same law, for example, in the West, people who take untested drugs are paid money. On average, $1000. However, in our country there is no talk about this. Most likely, people will thank foreign drug companies for providing experimental pills because they are free. Also, the order does not provide for insurance against the negative consequences of participation in clinical trials and compensation for complications and deterioration of health.

But it's not that simple. Directors of clinics that have allowed experiments with new drugs receive from pharmaceutical companies from 10 to 50 thousand dollars. They will pay kickbacks to the American volunteer who started this scheme.

Paramedics in the Ambulance. Ulyana Suprun wants to remove doctors from ambulance teams and replace them with paramedics - paramedics without higher education. This is the essence of emergency medicine reform. Now there are 3-4 people in an ambulance: a doctor, a paramedic, an orderly (not always) and a driver. According to the minister's plan, there should be two of them left - a paramedic and a medical instructor - who is also a driver. Thus, the patient will not be diagnosed, but simply transported to the nearest medical facility. In conditions of bad roads, busy hospitals, and negligent treatment of the patient, this can lead to death. Moreover, paramedics are powerless when it comes to pulmonary edema, stroke, heart attack, and painful shock. They do not have the right to perform resuscitation.

Suprun also promised to open call centers. Doctors will provide consultations over the phone, and ambulances will only arrive in truly emergency situations.

“Closing” of the Oncology program. Information has emerged that in 2017 the Ministry of Health does not intend to adopt a targeted program of state assistance “Oncology”. This meant that millions of people were doomed to a painful death from cancer. However, the Ministry of Health stated that there was no expectation of a refusal to finance cancer patients next year, and called the information fake. They also promised that the funds they plan to spend on purchasing drugs for cancer patients will be increased.

However, Ulyana Suprun actively advocates that instead of treating oncology, the Ministry of Health should concentrate on its prevention. Unknown as a "Beware of Cancer" poster and a lot of advertising will help people cope with this disease. Although it’s clear what Suprun is getting at. Prevention in its concept is a preventive examination. As we remember, Ulyana is an advanced radiologist with a “diagnostic office”. Her main desire is to make all preventive services paid and make money from low-income Ukrainians, for whom cancer sounds like a death sentence.

Increasing availability of medicines. Ulyana Suprun seeks to introduce a mechanism for reimbursing the cost of medicines to Ukrainians. In particular, compensation is provided for drugs for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Soon a person will be able to purchase these medications at a pharmacy with a prescription, which will guarantee a 50-70% discount. It’s just not clear how much money this initiative will cost.

Tender monopoly. This, according to all officials, is the main reason for corruption. For the second year now, medicines have been purchased through international organizations. Suprun said that in 2015, more than 790 million hryvnia were saved on drug purchases compared to 2014.

There are only serious problems with this innovation. This year, for 90 days, medicines for children with cancer, purchased by the Ministry of Health through the international organization Crown Agents, supplied by Lyudmila Pharm LLC, were in a temporary storage warehouse at the Kyiv customs office of the State Fiscal Service. The reason is the refusal of Lyudmila Pharm LLC to carry out all necessary customs procedures. The ministry made concessions - a private company transferred ownership to an international organization with the condition of complete tax exemption. Will the Ministry of Health continue to be so loyal to private structures that are constantly wasting money?

All these initiatives speak only of one thing - today in Ukraine there is a commercialization of the healthcare system. We are moving to an insurance model in which every single service will be paid for.

Honest and rich

As soon as Ulyana Suprun sat in the minister’s chair, she immediately opened the second entrance to the Ministry of Health, which had been closed over the past years. She also took out the statue of Hippocrates, which had been collecting dust for many years in the basement of the ministry, and placed it in the center of the hall.

Ulyana goes to work not in branded clothes, but in an embroidered shirt. Most often on foot and with a backpack on my shoulders. She categorically does not accept shoes with heels, and wears a dress on rare occasions.

Despite all this, the head of the Ministry of Health is a hryvnia millionaire. At the end of 2015, Suprun received just over 129.6 thousand hryvnia, and she also has 58.1 million hryvnia in accounts abroad. Such data is indicated in her declaration. It’s strange that the patriot doesn’t trust Ukrainian banks. And it’s even stranger that the money is just sitting in the bank. Americans typically invest in securities. Perhaps there is one explanation - the money was received recently and Ulyana has not yet found where to invest it.

Suprun received 36 thousand hryvnia as salary last year, that is, her monthly salary was 3 thousand hryvnia.

The Suprun spouses also own an apartment with a total area of 100 square meters. meters.

The latest scandal is related to the fact that Ulyana Suprun is trying to block the appointment of Natalya Sholoiko to the post of Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health in order to “push” “her” candidate to this post - the current Deputy Minister of Health for European Integration Oksana Sivak.

Sholoiko won the competition for the post of Secretary of State of the Ministry of Health. However, Suprun opposed her appointment, saying that the elected official had a conflict of interest. Ulyana did not specify what exactly. And this despite the fact that just recently Sholoiko was appointed deputy director for registration and pharmacovigilance of the State Expert Center of the Ministry of Health (SEC). And this appointment was agreed upon with the head of the Ministry of Health.

As a result, let’s paraphrase the Russian classic: “There is no money. Good health to you!”

More and more doctors are beginning to openly speak out against the reforms being carried out by the current acting. Minister of Health Ulyana Suprun. Moreover, the department is beginning to be called the Ministry of Death

Statements from doctors

The first person who could not stand the “surgery” was the famous cardiac surgeon, director of the Heart Institute Boris Todurov. He blamed Suprun for the failure of medical reforms. According to him, from the moment of Suprun’s appointment, only irresponsible statements, ill-conceived decisions, and adventurism in the development strategy can be traced in the work of the Ministry of Health.

“The program for cardiovascular diseases provided for the purchase of emergency consumables worth UAH 364 million, which could have saved tens of thousands of lives. You did not carry out this purchase. I declare absolutely responsibly (and I can repeat this in court) - your negligence took more lives of Ukrainians than the war in recent years. Do you understand your responsibility (including criminal) for neglect of your duties?” Todurov wrote.

Later, Suprun was offended by cardiologist Todurov for comparing him to a penguin, and removed him from her friends on Facebook. At the same time, accusations began to be made against the heart surgeon on social networks that he was almost a “Kremlin agent” and was involved in corruption. In addition, his Facebook pages were blocked.

The second doctor who decided to sharply criticize Suprun’s activities was clinical immunologist-rheumatologist, head of the Kyiv city separate division of the National Medical Chamber of Ukraine Sergei Kravchenko. His expressions addressed to the acting ministers were much tougher than Todurov’s.

In particular, Kravchenko accused Suprun of the fact that her work threatens the total destruction of healthcare. According to him, “Ulyana Suprun is the person who created and heads the Ministry of Death in Ukraine.”

“The first death on their conscience was a young guy Igor Melnik, from Transcarpathia, who needed a heart transplant, was at the Amosov Heart Institute, and the Belarusian clinic was ready to accept him, and it had funds in its accounts. There was also a corresponding decision of the Ministry of Health commission on treatment of this guy abroad, he could have been saved. But Mrs. Suprun and her deputies did not find time to sign a letter of guarantee, he died,” said Kravchenko.

Position of the Verkhovna Rada

Parliament believes that reforms in the health care system are happening “at random.” According to MP, head of the profile committee of the Rada Olga Bogomolets, there is not enough money to provide people with treatment.

“This is what the Ministry of Health is silent about today. There is not enough money to provide people with treatment. And when the Ministry of Health says that the money that we have today is enough for us, then this is not true. Because the money that we have, there hasn’t been enough for a long time, which is why people pay extra from their own pockets,” Bogomolets said on the Espreso TV channel.

According to her, the reforms being implemented by the department will lead to a reduction in bed capacity.

“Can we compare America and Ukraine? No, we can’t. It (the American healthcare system) is not good. I don’t want to build an American healthcare system in Ukraine,” Bogomolets said.

According to her, the American system will lead to a reduction in hospital beds, which means people will be deprived of help.

People's Deputy of Ukraine Oleg Musiy even stated that Ulyana Suprun was appointed to her position illegitimately.

“At the time of the appointment of Ulyana Suprun, we did not have a minister. Kvitashvili did not submit her candidacy. Now the only legitimate deputy minister is Roman Ilyk. Because his candidacy was legally submitted by Kvitashvili for this position. But the acting minister Viktar Shafransky nominated Ulyana Suprun illegally way, since this is not provided for by current legislation,” the deputy said.

Activities of the Ministry of Health

Do you know what the ministry, and in particular Suprun herself, is proud of for 2016? Traveling around the country, traveling thousands of kilometers and distributing vaccines, which already happens in any year under any minister. The corresponding post was published on the official page of the acting director. minister on Facebook.

In addition, the ministry reported that medications were purchased for more than fifty children suffering from diseases such as Gaucher disease, mucopolysaccharidosis, juvenile rheumatoid arthritis and epidermolysis bullosa.

But these are not all the reforms that were announced in 2016.

Paramedics

One of the most resonant plans was to change the work of ambulances. In particular, officials were going to leave only the driver (also a medical instructor) and a paramedic. There will be no doctors among the paramedics.

This caused a serious wave of indignation among doctors throughout the country. Regional ambulance doctors came to Kyiv to hold a warning picket against the medical reform being prepared by the ministry. Later, health workers were forced to picket the Ministry of Health indefinitely, but to no avail.

“We want to make three out of 14 regional hospitals. But these are mountains, you still need to get from the village to the road - how can we transport conscripts?” physiotherapist Nadezhda Tolkacheva from the Ivano-Frankivsk region shrugs. “Our women are doomed to give birth without the participation of doctors.” , and they’re talking about paramedics.”

Family doctor for 210 hryvnia

As you know, from 2017, as part of the healthcare reform, Ukrainians will look for a family doctor on their own. In addition, a National Health Service will be created, which will implement compulsory health insurance. The service will manage public money. According to preliminary estimates, she will allocate 210 hryvnia per year for each of us. For this money we have the right to an initial examination and treatment, but if we cannot meet this amount, we will have to pay extra from our own pocket to the cashier. Doctors don't yet understand what this might look like.

“It seems that this was written by people who are very far from medicine. How can you begin to implement a new system if you haven’t decided what will happen with the tests. If a patient comes to me, I am obliged to prescribe at least a blood test for him, these are basic things even with ARVI. For influenza and bronchitis, an x-ray is needed. I’m not even talking about elderly patients who need a cardiogram. But what to do with childbirth, where will they go?” — Olga Kalinina, a pediatrician at the capital’s clinic, is indignant.

Oncology financing

Ulyana Suprun stated that in 2017 the department will allegedly abandon the Oncology state program. The ministry’s website, however, hastened to declare Suprun’s words a fake.

“I would like to see preventive medicine work so that we have fewer and fewer cancer diseases. Why should we treat them all? Because we detect these diseases very late,” Suprun said at a meeting with doctors during a working visit to Vinnitsa.

Later, the Ministry of Health stated that a refusal to finance cancer patients was not expected next year, calling Suprun’s quote a fake. Moreover, the funds planned to be spent on purchasing drugs for cancer patients will increase.

Mushroom drones

The last thing the minister was remembered for was her admiration on the official Facebook page for disposable drones made from mushrooms for delivering medicine.

"A fantastic research project! And this is no exaggeration. A disposable aircraft that will deliver vaccines or any other medical supplies to hard-to-reach places. Moreover, the researchers are working on a drone that will consist of a mushroom-based material so that it can completely disappear after use. Just imagine how many Ukrainian soldiers will be able to maintain their health if this or similar inventions are implemented in our country,” Suprun wrote. At the same time, the military themselves in the comments to this post clarified that they definitely do not need medications.

It is worth noting that any criticism of the activities of the acting the minister is causing a strong reaction from certain little-known organizations that are apparently trying to promote themselves on this. Thus, a certain “Content Analysis Center” allegedly “checked” who was behind the attacks on Suprun. And he blamed a number of major media outlets for the attacks.

Ulyana Suprun, an American and Maidan volunteer, headed the Ministry of Health (as Acting Officer) on August 1, 2016, at the personal invitation of Petro Poroshenko. After this appointment, one might think that the social elevator in our country had started working - a simply responsible and proactive person came to power, aimed at reforming the corrupt system. However, this is nothing more than an attempt by the current government to put in the “hot” seat a person outside the system who does not understand the basics of management in healthcare.

The little-known acting minister Ulyana Suprun seems like a saint compared to the rest, but there are blemishes in her biography.

Made in USA

After graduating, Ulyana Nadiya meets her future husband Marco, a Canadian of Ukrainian descent, and they move to New York. Ulyana gets a job as a radiologist in a private clinic.

In addition, the young couple leads an active social life - they take part in various kinds of pro-Ukrainian projects.

From this we conclude that Suprun did not study or work in tactical medicine. Her areas of focus are laboratory and diagnostic work.

Volunteers on the Maidan and politics

During the 2014 Revolution, the Suprun couple found themselves in their element - Marco worked with foreign journalists, made documentaries, and Ulyana became a volunteer for the Maidan Medical Service. She helped wounded Maidan protesters and was present during heated clashes. Only her experience was not enough to provide qualified assistance to the wounded. Suprun herself does not hide this. She has repeatedly said that such assistance should be provided by people with a different level of appropriate training. She does not hide another fact - that she could not help the wounded soldier, who later died.

In mid-2014, Ulyana Suprun became the director of humanitarian initiatives at the Ukrainian World Congress.

Let us note that the volunteer family communicates closely with representatives of the Right Sector.

Ministerial life

A year after being granted Ukrainian citizenship, Ulyana Suprun receives another gift from the President - an offer to work in the Ministry of Health. Ulyana agrees.

Moreover, at the briefing, Ulyana Suprun did not present a program for reforming the medical industry, as newly appointed ministers usually do. She promised to announce reforms sometime in the fall.

American medical car

Donor Transplant Law. At a briefing about her appointment, Suprun told a touching story about how her good friend in America has been waiting for a transplant for 16 years. She also assured everyone that, as part of state policy, she would lobby for a law on donor transplantation in Ukraine. The ground has already been prepared for this. In April, the Verkhovna Rada adopted bill No. 2386a-1 in the first reading, allowing organ transplantation from deceased people if they gave consent during their lifetime. The authors are people's deputies Olga Bogomolets and Oksana Korchinskaya.

Paramedics in the Ambulance" Ulyana Suprun wants to remove doctors from ambulance teams and replace them with paramedics - paramedics without higher education. This is the essence of emergency medicine reform. Now there are 3-4 people in an ambulance: a doctor, a paramedic, an orderly (not always) and a driver. According to the minister's plan, there should be two of them left - a paramedic and a medical instructor - who is also a driver. Thus, the patient will not be diagnosed, but simply transported to the nearest medical facility. In conditions of bad roads, busy hospitals, and negligent treatment of the patient, this can lead to death. Moreover, paramedics are powerless when it comes to pulmonary edema, stroke, heart attack, and painful shock. They do not have the right to perform resuscitation.

Suprun also promised to open call centers. Doctors will provide consultations over the phone, and ambulances will only arrive in truly emergency situations.

“Closing” of the Oncology program. Information has emerged that in 2017 the Ministry of Health does not intend to adopt a targeted program of state assistance “Oncology”. This meant that millions of people were doomed to a painful death from cancer. However, the Ministry of Health stated that there was no expectation of a refusal to finance cancer patients next year, and called the information fake. They also promised that the funds they plan to spend on purchasing drugs for cancer patients will be increased.

Increasing access to medicines. Ulyana Suprun seeks to introduce a mechanism for reimbursing the cost of medicines to Ukrainians. In particular, compensation is provided for drugs for cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Soon a person will be able to purchase these medications at a pharmacy with a prescription, which will guarantee a 50-70% discount. It’s just not clear how much money this initiative will cost.

All these initiatives speak only of one thing – today in Ukraine there is a commercialization of the healthcare system. We are moving to an insurance model in which every single service will be paid for.

"Doctor Death" Ulyana Suprun

Honest and rich

Suprun received 36 thousand hryvnia as salary last year, that is, her monthly salary was 3 thousand hryvnia.

The Suprun spouses also own an apartment with a total area of 100 square meters. meters.

As a result, let’s paraphrase the Russian classic: “There is no money. Good health to you!”

Arina Dmitrieva, for SKELET-info

Ulyana Suprun. How an American volunteer minister is finishing off Ukrainian medicine updated: November 16, 2017 by: creator

Inessa Drugova, RIA Novosti Ukraine

A year ago, when the Varangians were still highly honored in Ukraine, American volunteer Ulyana, director of humanitarian initiatives at the World Congress of Ukrainians Suprun was appointed acting Minister of Health.

Suprun moved to Ukraine with her husband Mark in 2013. According to her, the events on the Maidan forced her to decide on such an action. During Euromaidan, Suprun worked in the medical service, and since 2014 she became the director of humanitarian initiatives of the World Congress of Ukrainians. In 2014, she founded the organization “Protection of Patriots”, which conducted classes in tactical medicine and provided Ukrainian soldiers with individual first aid kits of NATO standard.

But evil tongues claim that the medicines in these first aid kits are expired. In October 2015, Suprun became a consultant to the Verkhovna Rada committee on issues.

At first, the appointment was accepted favorably, but not much time passed, and Ulyana Suprun in Ukraine began to be called “Doctor Death.”

Groysman's "sacred cow"?

Recently, Prime Minister Vladimir Groysman admitted that “Ukraine should be built by Ukrainians,” and emphasized that the authorities should not abuse the involvement of foreigners. But, apparently, an exception was made for Ulyana Suprun.

And this despite the fact that Suprun’s activities in the position of... O. Minister of Health is legally void from the point of view of the legislation of Ukraine, because Suprun has long exceeded the limit for holding office.

According to the Labor Code of Ukraine, you can only serve as an acting minister for three months. Then either the candidate must be approved for the position of minister, or another person must be appointed acting until the appointment of the minister of health occurs. Nevertheless, the gross violation of the law is not noticed either in the government or in the bodies called upon to monitor compliance with the laws.

Young technocrats, aka "penguins"

When Suprun introduced her deputies, she assured that the new team is not political, “they are specialists, technocrats who will work in a new way.” However, over time, the so-called technocrats received a barrage of criticism from the expert medical community.

They were accused of unprofessionalism, populism and disdain for the country's leading doctors.

“Suprun surrounded herself with 25-year-old girls and boys without education. And these advisers talk to me like I’m a homeless person. How can this be? This is not about personal grievances, the question is about the survival of tens of thousands of people! Literally! I head a clinic, who performs 5 thousand heart surgeries a year. If Suprun treats us like this, can you imagine how he behaves with others? According to the principle: we are reformers, and you are all corrupt and shit. They don’t let you in, they even changed the security at the Ministry of Health, they only let “their own people” into the building,- said the famous Ukrainian cardiac surgeon, Professor Boris Todurov in an interview with Ukrainian media.

In the camp of Suprun’s opponents, her deputies were immediately dubbed the “team of penguins.”

"Ambulances" without doctors and escaping from journalists

The first "bomb" exploded when... O. The head of the Ministry of Health announced that she intends to abolish doctors and paramedics from ambulance crews and replace them with paramedics.

According to Suprun’s idea, by analogy with the United States, emergency medical technicians should appear in the ambulance crews, who will simultaneously serve as drivers and provide the minimum necessary medical care on the spot. Suprun assured that paramedics are more educated than current paramedics. They are also capable of providing assistance in extreme conditions. The idea caused an extremely negative reaction among medical workers.

A flurry of criticism was caused by Suprun's statement that her ministry would no longer accept the Oncology state aid program and allocate money for the treatment of cancer patients. Suprun explained this decision by saying that the Ministry of Health is now concentrating on the prevention of diseases, rather than on their treatment.

When patients in the country began to die from botulism, Suprun, instead of ringing all the bells and talking about the measures that her department was taking in this regard, ran away from uncomfortable questions from journalists. Over time, Ukraine still received only 25 courses of serum against botulism as humanitarian aid, but by order of the Ministry of Health, all of them are stored in warehouses in Kyiv, and this despite the fact that the serum must be administered to the patient immediately.

It is worth recognizing that serums against botulism and other dangerous infectious diseases disappeared from Ukraine at the instigation of Suprun’s predecessor Alexander Kvitashvili— the country refused to purchase vaccines and serums from the Russian Federation.

But Suprun did not want to remain on the sidelines and went even further. She appealed to the government with a proposal to ban the sale of Russian medicines in Ukraine. The list may include 250 drugs. True, according to Suprun, of these, only 150 actually have some kind of pharmacological effect, and only 8 drugs have no analogues.

Serious charges

The biggest scandal surrounding the Ministry of Health broke out at the beginning of 2017. Director of the Heart Institute Boris became the first famous Ukrainian doctor whose indignation at what was happening in the medical industry overcame his sense of self-preservation.

He accused Ulyana Suprun of criminal negligence, which is claiming more lives of Ukrainians than the anti-terrorist operation in Donbass. As a result, the professor became the target of a massive information attack from supporters of the “reform team.” And here it’s worth recalling that I. O. The minister has 58 freelance advisers, who are funded through public organizations through grants.

But Todurov was not alone. The heads of other medical institutions in Ukraine also voiced their complaints about the work of the team of the head of the Ministry of Health. Doctors stated that the problems raised by Todurov are not problems of one specific medical institution, as the Ministry of Health assured - Ukrainian medicine is in a catastrophic state.

Medical revolution

Nevertheless, Ulyana Suprun steadily continues to fulfill her main function, for which she was appointed to this post. In April of this year, the Ministry of Health presented a package of legislative initiatives, which provides for a number of fundamental changes in Ukrainian medicine.

At the same time, in the information space, the postulate is aggressively imposed on Ukrainians that only the reform of the “pro-Western reformers” of the Ministry of Health can lead the medical industry out of the crisis. At the same time, representatives of the expert medical community, who call for a serious discussion of the possible risks and consequences of the reform proposed by the Suprun team, were declared almost enemies of the people and opponents of reforms.

The Ministry of Health claims that they intend to improve the quality of medical services and spend budget money on treating citizens, and not on maintaining medical institutions. Therefore, it is proposed to pay only for the medical service provided to the patient, and not to finance the number of beds in hospitals. The patient himself will choose where and with whom he wants to be treated, regardless of his place of residence and registration.

The principle “money follows the patient” is laid down here. To achieve this, it is first planned to take away the medical subvention from local budgets, transferring budget funds to the National Health Service. There is clearly some optimization of budget funds and their concentration in one hand. This should increase the efficiency of using budget funds, the government believes.

But tens of billions of hryvnia will be managed by one department - the National Health Service, which will enter into agreements with medical institutions (both public and private) and individuals licensed to practice medicine.

Medical institutions and private doctors, having entered into contracts, will provide medical services within the framework of the so-called state guaranteed package. They will receive money only for the services provided to patients. The National Health Service will be responsible for paying them. Medical services and medicines at the level of primary, palliative and emergency medical care will be subject to full payment from the state budget. The amount of funding for other types of medical services will be determined by the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Ministry of Health admits that today Ukrainians already do not have access to free medicine. Despite the fact that such a right is enshrined in the Constitution. By and large, the Ministry of Health, on the one hand, wants to interrupt the practice of Ukrainians paying “over the counter” into the pockets of doctors, and on the other, to legalize it.

In addition, the proposed “reform” could lead to the massive closure of hospitals: it is envisaged that funding for state and municipal medical institutions will not be provided from the state budget from January 1, 2020.

But the start of medical reform in parliament did not go well. Deputies returned several times to vote for the government bill (No. 6327), changing the principle of payment for medical services. The draft passed the first reading on the second attempt, gaining 227 “for” amid cries from parliamentarians about violation of regulations and suspicions of “button-mashing.” Moreover, speaker Andrey Parubiy I put the document back for review three times. People's deputies completely failed to vote for the accompanying bill (No. 6329) with changes to the Budget Code. It is impossible without him.

Empty promises and defamation of doctors

A person who seems to profess democratic values, the first thing he did was agree to this position, was appointed and continues to occupy it in violation of the law, executive secretary of the National Medical Chamber of Ukraine Sergey Kravchenko.

“Empty promises, starting from the “Money Follows the Patient” program, re-profiling the work of ambulances according to the US model, a story on the reform of primary health care and 210 hryvnia per patient starting from January 1, 2017.

All the stories, all the planned reforms and all the deadlines that they stated, not only were not implemented, but also did not find a basis not only in financial and economic education, but also in a logical and common sense explanation.

Then - maximum confrontation with the medical community, primarily with the medical elites. In addition, throughout the year, the “penguin team” led by Ulyana Suprun conducted a targeted campaign to discredit the medical specialty, medical work, medical science, medical education, and the medical industry as a whole.

In addition, Suprun took over Kvitashvili’s baton and completely leveled the relationship with the relevant committee of the Supreme Council of Health, forgetting that Ukraine is a parliamentary-presidential republic, and it is not the president or the prime minister who hires ministers in our country, but the parliament.

For the first time, the committee and the entire parliament are not only isolated from the appointment of the head of the medical industry, but also completely isolated from all processes that occur in the national health care. The year of Suprun is a year of cynicism, lies, profanity and cheap PR.",” he summed up Ulyana Suprun’s year of work.

Born on January 30, 1963 in Detroit (USA) in a family of Ukrainian immigrants.

Family status:

Ulyana Suprun with her husband Mark

Education:

As a child, Suprun was in the Ukrainian scout organization "PLAST".

In 1985, she graduated from Wayne State University (USA), Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in biology.

From 1985 to 1989 she studied at the University of Michigan, College of Human Medicine. Doctor of Medical Sciences-doctor.

From 1989 to 1990, she completed an interim one-year residency program at Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan.

From 1990 to 1994 - resident physician in radiology diagnostics at Sinai Hospital in Detroit, Michigan (USA). From 1993 to 1994 - senior resident at the same hospital.

In 1994, she received professional certification to conduct x-ray diagnostics.

In 1994-1995 she studied at graduate school in mammography and tomographic radiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan (USA).

Narrow specialization:

Diagnostic radiology for women's health, including digital mammography, breast ultrasound, stereotactic breast biopsy, ultrasound and MRI-guided breast biopsy, breast MRI, obstetric and gynecological ultrasound, sonohysterography, bone densitometry, general ultrasound, compliance MQSA (Mammography Quality Standards Act, USA) requirements.

Medical career:

July 1995 - October 1999: Women's Health Diagnostic Radiology, private practice. Bloch, Shaffer, Schoenholz, Pi. Si. New York, New York

November 1999 - January 2000: Acting Director in the field of diagnostic breast radiology. Henry Ford Hospital. Detroit, Michigan

February 2000 - December 2001: Deputy chief radiologist. Diagnostic radiology of women's health. Medical Imaging of Manhattan. New York, New York.

January 2002 - December 2008: Deputy Medical Director, Partner and Owner. Diagnostic radiology of women's health. Medical Imaging of Manhattan. New York, New York.

October 2015 - July 2016: Founder and director of the School of Rehabilitation Medicine of the Ukrainian Catholic University.

Public and political career:

In 2004, during the Orange Revolution, Marco and Ulyana took part in organizing rallies in support of Ukraine in Washington and New York.

April 2015 - July 2016: Founder and director of the public organization "Protection of Patriots", which trains in tactical medicine and provides Ukrainian soldiers with individual first aid kits of NATO standard.

February 2014 - July 2016: Director of humanitarian initiatives of the World Congress of Ukrainians.

On July 11, 2015, President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko signed decrees granting Ukrainian citizenship to spouses Ulyana and Mark Suprun

In September 2015, Suprun became a freelance consultant to the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Health Issues.

July 2016: First Deputy Minister of Health of Ukraine.

Since August 1, 2016, he has been acting as Minister of Health of Ukraine.

Social activity:

Member of the supervisory board of the First Volunteer Medical Hospital named after Nikolai Pirogov.

Member of the Maidan Medics Association.

Member of the Ukrainian Youth Union Cell in New York (1995 - 2013).

Member of the Ukrainian Congress Committee of America (1990 - present).

Director of the Council for Humanitarian Assistance to Ukrainians, UKCA (1997 - 1999).

Operational case

“We always had a desire somewhere inside us to settle in Ukraine, but something always got in the way: school, work, parents’ illness. In the fall of 2013, we settled everything and said to ourselves: that’s it, it’s time to go to Ukraine. We thought about living in London for a month, and then we had to move. On November 21, when the Maidan began, we started going to the local small Maidans, which were organized by the London Ukrainians. But after a few days we thought: why are we sitting here if we can go to a real big one. Maidan? We got ready and came."

The Supruns were among the first to criticize the inappropriate approach of the Ministry of Defense in stocking first aid kits.

“For military first-aid kits, the Ministry of Defense purchased the most expensive hemostatic agent - Combat Gauze. This is good. But instead of the American CAT (a well-known American tourniquet for stopping bleeding) - some kind of broken Ukrainian fake. Where is the logic here?” they said in the summer of 2015 .

Suprunov was not convinced by the argument that the Municipal Educational Institution is running out of budget and cannot finance IFAK-class first-aid kits. They added:

“If representatives of the Ministry of Defense went to the manufacturers of harnesses in the United States and said: guys, we have a critical situation, we cannot pay you 20 dollars for one, we can only pay 12. I am convinced that they would have answered: thank you for the offer! And shook hands."

This compares her position favorably with the situation in which her predecessors found themselves.

At the same time, the head of the parliamentary committee on education, Olga Bogomolets, said that Suprun’s candidacy had not been agreed upon with the deputies.

At the same time, ex-Minister of Health Alexander Kvitashvili expressed hope that Suprun will be able to “find control over the Musia Committee.” Previously, it was the blocking of key bills by deputies that Kvitashvili called the reason for the failure of medical reform.

In addition, she promised to completely eliminate corruption in government procurement of medicines and vaccines, introduce an appointment with a doctor over the Internet, and replace emergency doctors with paramedics.

Property:

According to Ulyana Nadezhda Suprun’s declaration for 2015, she has UAH 58 million 208 thousand in her bank account. Her husband – 47 million 187 thousand UAH. These funds are in accounts abroad.

Ulyana Nadezhda Suprun's salary was 36 thousand UAH (on average 3 thousand UAH monthly). Her husband has 37 thousand UAH per year. They both also received $4,186 (93.6 thousand UAH) in income from the United States. The family has an apartment of 100 square meters. m, but there is not a single car.

To publicize her activities as minister, Suprun created