Reprinted from Richmond Times Dispatch, June 16, 1993

By Beverly Orndorff

It was pure chance, but there could hardly have been a better lesson for the visiting Russian medical team in how our emergency medical system works than what they saw last Thursday.

They went to the scene of a shooting, near the Church Hill fire station they were visiting when the call came, and saw firsthand how all elements of the system – from firefighters to ambulance crews to police – meshed to treat the victim and get him to the hospital fast.

The team of physicians, from Vladivostok's largest hospital and that city's major trauma center, apparently were impressed. Only seven minutes elapsed from the time the ambulance arrived to the time it took off with the victim.

It was a far cry from the doctor and nurse staffed ambulance system in Vladivostok. The American approach, they indicated yesterday, may be well worth consideration.

That's one reason the team is here: to gain insights into the U.S. medical care delivery system. It's the first team to come under a recently established partnership between the Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and a hospital of similar size in Vladivostok.

The partnership is one of 19 arranged through the American International Health Alliance in collaboration with the State Department's U.S. Agency for International Development. The alliance was formed to help improve health care in the format Soviet Union, where transitions are under way from state-run systems to more Western-style ones.

The team arrived May 30 and will go home Friday. During the physicians' stay, they have sampled not only bits of American medical life but cultural life as well. During a visit to Culpeper, for instance, where they saw an example of a rural hospital, they also watched firefighters' parade and attended a cookout.

They have been spending time with Carl R. Fischer, executive director of MCV Hospitals, and his staff, learning about hospital administration and fiscal matters. Fischer also took them to Williamsburg and to the mountains last weekend.

They've observed patient care in various settings at MCV Hospitals; they said (through Dr. Lozinsky, the one team member who speaks English) that they are impressed with the youthfulness and depth of knowledge of the medical students and residents. They visited family practice offices and St. Mary's Hospital and spent time in MCV's trauma center.

And last Thursday, they studied the emergency care system that takes care of patients before they get to the hospital. They toured the state Health Department's Emergency Medical Services Department, saw the city's ambulance system and learned that firefighters who are trained as emergency medical technicians are often the first on the scene of accidents and other trauma.

Dr. Lozinsky said he and his colleagues were impressed by how hard and long physicians, students, residents and other health care professionals work; they also were impressed with how quickly and efficiently patents are treated and discharged from the hospital here.

And, he added, translating remarks from Dr. Novikov, the team has been impressed "by people's friendliness here. We didn't expect the hospitality."