Washington, D.C. – Representatives Joe Wilson (R-SC), Jason Crow (D-CO), Elissa Slotkin (D-MI), and Liz Cheney (R-WY) led a group of bipartisan lawmakers pressing for critical medical support in Eastern Europe as Ukraine’s healthcare system nears collapse and millions continue to flee the country. In a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, the Members requested that the U.S. send armored ambulances to the area, deploy military field hospitals in Poland, and scale up a regional medical center to treat fleeing and wounded Ukrainians.
“We write to you because of our grave concerns over the growing humanitarian crisis in Ukraine and along its western border with Poland. We want to first acknowledge your leadership and coordinated efforts to provide an unprecedented amount of humanitarian and military assistance to Ukraine. In light of the scope and scale of the humanitarian disaster, we recommend additional steps that could help support the struggling healthcare systems in Ukraine and Poland,” the Members wrote to the Administration.
“You have a unique opportunity to showcase American leadership by providing critical medical support to Ukrainians that will inspire other NATO states to follow suit,” the Members continued.
Roughly 119 hospitals and other medical facilities in Ukraine have been destroyed – including a maternity ward.
Before the crisis, the Polish healthcare system lacked a sufficient number of doctors and specialists for its population size and it is now additionally strained from the surge of Ukrainian refugees requiring medical care.
The Members recommended three steps be taken by the Administration:
- That the U.S. immediately send armored ambulances, such as the M997A2 HMMWV field litter ambulance, to Ukrainian first responders and defense forces. These wheeled ambulances can securely transport up to four people and allow for life-saving care.
- That the U.S. deploy several military field hospital centers to the Polish – Ukrainian border region and authorize U.S. medical personnel to care for the sick and wounded fighters and refugees and third country nationals crossing into Poland.
- That the U.S. scale up Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and treat the sick and wounded Ukrainians who cannot be sufficiently cared for at the forward deployed Army hospital centers.
Issues: Foreign Affairs, National Security
Original source can be found here.
