Kushnirska Olena

I began my journey at Kharkiv Medical University, where I received my higher medical education, and I also studied and regularly trained in the USA and Europe. When the full-scale war began, since our city was and remains in a combat zone, my team and I decided to stay and set up a humanitarian hub at our clinic, and for the first 8 months we helped children and adults through this difficult time. We delivered food and medicine, provided free medical services and helped people relocate and find temporary accommodation in Ukraine.

Over the years I have launched many projects, both my own and as a consultant: I was the first in eastern Ukraine to introduce rehabilitation using the French Tomatis method, rehabilitation at a dolphinarium (dolphin therapy combined with hardware methods and a non-standard approach to each patient) and inclusive education for children with developmental differences; I also advised social programs for low-income families who need financial support for their children's rehabilitation, as well as city social programs.

12 years ago I launched my own private clinic. We started on our own in a small space in the center of Kharkiv and grew exponentially. Before the war we were planning to open a clinic of about 2,500 m², but unfortunately things went differently and we had to reduce our capacity, even though it constantly needs to grow, as there were many children in need of professional care. We used to work mainly with children with developmental differences, but the war broadened our focus: they have been joined by children suffering from Russian aggression, and sadly there are more and more of them. Today we have a two-storey clinic of about 800 m² and a separate space of about 500 m² for a full-day correctional group. These projects made it possible to bring together in one place a multidisciplinary team of specialists with many methods, from evidence-based medicine to non-traditional approaches, as well as many years of experience that make it possible to work with and help children and teenagers.

My mission and goal is to create projects aimed at improving the quality of life of children and teenagers, integrating them into society and helping them on their difficult path through life.