Getting to work in Chisinau

After an eventful 44 hours of travel to get from Macedonia to Moldova, I finally landed in Chisinau and met up with the rest of my team from the states. We're staying in an apartment in the southeast corner of Chisinau (Moldova's capital). Though it feels like a big and bustling city, it is fairly small compared to some of the other cities I've visited on this trip. With a team of 9 people, it is easy to stand out while walking around, but we do our best to blend in. The team is composed of mostly rehab professionals and students with one nurse doing her best to break through the medical system. The rehab professionals have been coming here to work for several years and have made some friends at different hospitals and institutes in the area. I'll give a quick run down of what we're doing

The TEAM
Cyndi - team leader and PT from UW
Patti - Orthopedic PT from Eastern WA
Sarah - Orthopedic PT from Missouri
Margaret - Pediatric OT from Eastern WA
Wendy - Trauma nurse from Portland
Ansley - PT student from EWU
Jason - PT student from UW
Catherine - PT student from UW
Kelsey - OT student from UW (me!!)
Once we got here and got a bit more oriented to the town and the time change, we were introduced to our primary working sites and what we'd be doing. Some knew ahead of time...others were in for an adventure

The FACILITIES
The Institute of Neurology - This is the main hospital for neurological disorders, both emergency and long-term rehabilitation. The main doctor who the MTI team has been working with is extremely invested and interested in making the cooperation with the team work out really well. Patti and Sarah have gone to visit the "KT" room everyday (Kinetotherapy - this is the closest approximation to PTs that we've come up with) and offer suggestions and their perspectives on different patients. Jason and Catherine have both given presentations to faculty, physicians and students about Parkinson's disease, Multiple Sclerosis and Fall prevention in elderly. Ansley and I have both taken the chance to follow therapists and assist in the "KT" room. Wendy has had the tough job of breaking into the world of the nursing staff on the ICU and has done a great job (as a fellow returned peace corps volunteer, she understands how to work the system).
Mother and Child Institute - This is the main OB/GYN, maternity, and pediatric facility in Chisinau and probably the country. They work with high-risk pregnancies as well as normal pregnancies. Once the kiddos are born, they have a high tech NICU, neonatal surgery floor, and a step down rehab unit (for kids to get treatment after they've been in the NICU). The campus is huge and there are almost 60 units where they treat kids from 23 weeks gestation up to the age of 18. Margaret has been spending 3 days a week here visiting different units and sharing her expertise from NICUs in the states. Its been fascinating to learn from her about feeding strategies with premies and positioning/handling techniques to ensure proper development. She's also taught on normal vs abnormal development and shared her research on the impact of maternal diabetes on infant development and morbidity. I've been her shadow for the past week and will continue to do so. The staff is somewhat receptive, but very friendly. Since our trip is so short (2 weeks!), it is hard to expect too much more.
Hippocrates - This is an outpatient pediatric rehab facility that was started and funded by a British non-profit organization. There are mostly "KTs" (Moldova's version of PTs) who work here, some of whom function as OTs and one Speech/Language Pathologist. Dr. Diana is a fabulous woman who keeps the facility moving forward. Margaret has also been visiting here and consulting with patients as well as teaching about feeding and assessment techniques. I've been so grateful to have the experience here because the women who work at Hippocrates are so dedicated and motivated to work with the children. All the treatment is for free to the families, an incredible opportunity. Check out these websites for more info and interesting information about Hippocrates : (Wikipedia's post on the center, The main website)
The Sports University - This is the main teaching facility for future physical therapists and PE teachers. They have both a bachelors and a masters program for students to pursue. Sarah and Patti have been doing an incredible job of teaching the faculty and some of the masters students about assessment and treatment of orthopedic conditions. I had the chance to be a guinea pig one day and have the participants practice their assessments on me. From this I found out how different teaching styles are between the states and Moldova and that I have bad shoulders :(

We've all been busy jumping around from facility to facility and enjoying the interaction with the professionals at each place. It is hard sometimes because we're working through translators and trusting that things are translated correctly. Half of the people speak Russian and the other half Romanian, so I understand some of the Russian. But they laugh when I speak my Ukrainian because to most of them it sounds "funny" and they don't understand it. It is amazing that 2 languages that are so similar can have verbs that are totally different and indecipherable when spoken. I do my best and have met a few people who understand my peasant-speak, but it has been a lot of me being mute.

Today is a rainy rainy day in Chisinau and half of the team is feeling a smidge under the weather, but I think we'll pull through. More to come on perspectives and impressions soon!!