Moscow, June 27, 2022
Graduates of the courses for care of the wounded.
Another group of volunteers completed training courses on care for the wounded, organized by the Training Center of the Metropolitan Central Clinical Hospital of St. Alexiy, Metropolitan of Moscow, and the Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service of the Moscow Patriarchate. Another 49 graduates received state-issued certificates. This is the 14th group of students who have been trained at the courses since the beginning of May. The certificates were presented to the graduates by the chairman of the Synodal Department for Charity, Bishop Panteleimon of Verey, reports Patriarchia.ru.
During the training, the students mastered the knowledge and skills that will allow them to professionally care for wounded people in hospitals. The course included both theoretical and practical courses on the care of bedridden patients: feeding, moving, and patient hygiene. The classes were conducted by the teachers of the St. Alexiy Hospital Training Center.
Maxim Yurasov, an orthopedic traumatologist at St. Alexiy Hospital, introduced the audience to the basic concepts of emergency medicine. He completed his residency at the Department of Traumatology, Orthopedics and Military Field Surgery of Yaroslavl State Medical University and has worked in emergency traumatology for more than 20 years. “As part of a highly specialized multidisciplinary team, he visited Gorlovka in Donbas twice in the spring to strengthen the medical services of the city in conditions of mass admission of the wounded.
During the course, students also studied the psychological aspects of interacting with people in stressful situations. The lecture was given by a crisis psychologist, Candidate of psychological sciences Larisa Pyzhyanova. She has been engaged in psychological assistance for more than 25 years, and worked as a psychologist for the Ministry of Emergency Situations for 10 years. Larisa Pyzhyanova has participated in the addressing of the consequences of 45 emergency situations.
The courses pay special attention to the spiritual foundations of charity. These classes were conducted by Bishop Panteleimon and the confessor of St. Alexiy Hospital, Archpriest Sergiy Klyaev. Before taking office, Fr. Sergiy worked as a doctor in the intensive care unit for newborns.
“Nothing can replace faith in Christ. I am talking about a living connection with Christ, about living with Christ and in Christ. Of course, natural kindness is present in every person, but if natural virtue—conscience, love for one’s homeland, love for children, and respect for elders—is not based on faith in Christ, then it is difficult to live in the modern world. Without faith, even one’s good qualities are distorted, become weak, and can turn into evil," Bishop Panteleimon noted during the classes.
As of June 23, 204 people have been trained in the courses for the care of the wounded, organized by the St. Alexiy Hospital Training Center and the Synodal Department for Charity. Since May 2022, more than 1,100 applications from volunteers have been submitted.
“It is a joy that so many people have expressed a desire to direct their free time and energy to charity and to help those who need it. Many of those who signed up for the courses have already been trained at the Training Center under the Junior Nurse program and have experience in caring for seriously ill people in covid hospitals and palliative wards. Now it is important for them to learn how to care for the wounded,” said Olga Bazhenova, head of the Training Center.
The Training Center held the same courses on caring for the wounded in May in Rostov-on-the-Don. 30 people were trained—sisters of mercy and volunteers of the Mercy-on-the-Don relief service and Rostov parishes.
Currently, Orthodox volunteers are helping the wounded in hospitals in Moscow and the Moscow region, in the military hospital of Rostov-on-Don, in Novoazovskaya, and Mariupol hospitals.
