The taste of care and warmth. Hundreds of lunches and dinners are delivered daily to medical workers in Vitebsk
– Lunch is served! Let's unload…
Today, Vitmil OJSC delivered over 100 lunches to the ambulance staff by order. There are more than 30 crews on duty, enough for everyone.
– The menu is varied, – the medics say as they unpack the lunchboxes. – Sometimes it's goulash, schnitzel, pork in cheese, cutlets, fish with vegetables, stuffed cabbage rolls… Everything is delicious, home-style cooked. But that's not the main thing – we appreciate the care. Sometimes we don't even have time to organize a snack. And here – a full lunch! Hot and fresh…
Alas, in just a minute, the lunchboxes are put aside – my interlocutors are rushing to an emergency call. Lunch will wait – they will have to reheat it in the microwave later.
Chief physician Viktor Gomonov shows that the staff has the conditions for this; a special corner is equipped at the station. As for the workload of recent weeks – it has indeed increased. And although there are even fewer calls, the crews are fully occupied – they are often involved in transporting hospitalized patients. Either for examination at another clinic, or during recovery, the patient needs to be transferred to another medical facility. The concerns have significantly increased, but the time has decreased. That's why a large portion of the lunches are still unpacked – people are on routes.
We go out into the yard. The driver of the just-arrived ambulance, Viktor Novitsky, is eating right at his workplace – by the car. He jokes that it's more reliable, he won't have to run far when the call comes. You see, while the paramedic replenishes the medicine supply, he'll manage to have lunch too...
Viktor has been working at the ambulance and emergency care station for over 20 years and is used to anything. Difficulties, he notes, only make one stronger. He takes the current work schedule as a matter of course. Having worked here, at the "ambulance," he has seen it all. And today, like all medics, he is very grateful to the caring people. Both for the hot lunches delivered to the site, and for the fact that several Vitebsk gas stations organized a charity event – while refueling your car, all crew members can enjoy free coffee and sandwiches.
Mikhail Vishnevetsky, Head of the Main Healthcare Department of the Vitebsk Regional Executive Committee, notes:
– We understand that it is not easy for businesses themselves right now. But entrepreneurs and ordinary people, united around charitable foundations, find opportunities to support medics in difficult times. Representatives of business communities often call me, asking: what kind of help is needed? For example, they bought several oxygen concentrators or a batch of personal protective equipment – where is the best place to send it? The same applies to organizing meals for medical workers. Thank you to everyone, active and caring. Together, we are undoubtedly stronger.
By the way, lunches for medics in Vitebsk began to be prepared long ago, at the very beginning of the pandemic. Leading restaurateurs of the city and small cafes made their contribution to the common cause. The following participated in the event: "Apteka Group" company, LLC "Tekhnika Pitaniya," "Vitebskiy Traktir," "Eridan" hotel, "Kastus-Media," public association "Association of Employers and Entrepreneurs," private enterprise "Vtor-Servis," "Gubernskiy Traktir," enterprise "Svet," and others.
Now, the director of Vitmil OJSC, Oleg Sharapov, has specifically allocated one of the restaurants, Zelenaya Gurra. It is here that lunches and dinners are prepared for the leading medical institutions of the city. Every day, over five hundred heat-resistant lunch boxes are assembled and packed for those who are "on the front line" – treating pneumonia and coronavirus infection: ambulance staff, regional hospital, tuberculosis dispensary, dermatovenerological department, center for the rehabilitation of internationalist soldiers, the Emergency Hospital, and the so-called railway hospital. The car, loaded with lunches and dinners, makes three daily trips – from 13:00 to 19:00. Vitmil partially covers the costs of their preparation, and partially they are paid from a charitable account opened in the city.
The main thing is that there are no indifferent people in the city, which has been most severely affected by the virus today. This is also noted by the local charitable foundation for spiritual revival "Life" of the city of Vitebsk. Here, under the auspices of the foundation, many initiatives of the business community are accumulated. They have already raised over 80 thousand rubles and recently sent a large batch of personal protective equipment to 7 hospitals (including two district ones in Novolukoml and Lepel). A considerable amount was also spent on the payment of test systems for the detection of Covid-19.