Watching images of bombed homes and hospitals in Ukraine and parents and children fleeing their Russian invaders struck at the core of Naperville nurse Jessica Szostak.
A first-generation Polish American — her mother left her homeland at age 18 — Szostak is concerned for friends in Ukraine and family in Poland near the border.
Because standing by was not an option, Szostak has started collecting medical supplies.
“This kind of hit close to home,” she said. “How can we not help?”
As a critical care nurse at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Szostak works with Dr. Zaher Sahloul, president and cofounder of Chicago Ridge-based humanitarian nongovernmental organization MedGlobal.
Sahloul was planning a trip in March to assess how MedGlobal could assist the growing medical crisis in Ukraine and surrounding countries that are accepting refugees. But he wasn’t leaving the United States empty-handed.
Thanks to Szostak and the many other volunteers who collected more than $500,000 in supplies, 167 pieces of luggage accompanied the MedGlobal team Wednesday when they left O’Hare International Airport.
The seven U.S. doctors and two physicians from the United Kingdom were greeted at the airport in Poland by Szostak’s aunt, Marzena Krynska, who shepherded them to their destination.
Szostak said she’s been working with her aunt to assist the MedGlobal team, and the logistics have become quite the family affair. Krynska coordinated finding people to deliver 25 pieces of luggage packed with medical supplies to the Khmelnytskyi Military Hospital in western Ukraine.
This week, Szostak said MedGlobal doctors planned to visit hospitals in Lviv, a western Ukrainian city that’s 43 miles from Poland.
“As a humanitarian aid organization, we’re able to do that,” Szostak said.
The demand for supplies continues to grow as hospitals fill with the wounded, she said.
Refugees require help too because they’re arriving at the border after walking for days in bitter cold conditions with little food and water, Szostak said. “They’re not in good condition,” she said.
The team is evaluating whether field hospitals or smaller field clinics might best address the need for added medical resources, she said.
Part of the team returns this weekend to prepare for the next focused humanitarian mission as Szostak continues to gather medical supplies and pediatric formula.
To assist her effort, Szostak is looking to partner with organizations in Naperville and surrounding suburbs that could become collection sites.
She said she’s thankful for all the support already provided by Naperville residents through Facebook groups she’s reached out to for help.
“The Naperville community is amazing,” Szostak said. “I grew up in Naperville and graduated from Naperville North (in 2013), so I know how giving people are.”
Those unable to donate supplies can give money to MedGlobal at medglobal.org/ukraine-fund-support/. Szostak said all funds go directly to Ukraine medical help.
She likened the daunting situation in Ukraine to the COVID-19 pandemic, which at times loomed large and weighed heavily on medical professionals who were committed to saving lives.
“I was a COVID nurse through the pandemic,” Szostak said. “I am just one piece in a million-piece puzzle. If we can just save one life, that makes it all worth it.”