A ceremony was held at Mariupol State University in Kyiv to honor the participants and award the winners of the regional stage of the competition for the “Order of St. Panteleimon” Award for Professionalism and Compassion.
The event was organized by the Donetsk Regional Council for the “Order of St. Panteleimon” Award, with the support of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, medical public organizations, and associations in the Donetsk region.
The ceremony brought together representatives of the most humanitarian profession, who are called upon to save people’s lives every day. Among them were military and civilian medical professionals, members of the Honorary Council of the “Order of St. Panteleimon,” and the initiative’s founder, Vasyl Knyazevych, who served as Minister of Health from 2007 to 2010.
The participants observed a moment of silence to honor all the fallen medical workers and Ukrainian defenders who, in the opening moments of the great war, sacrificed their own lives to defend their homeland. A prayer was also offered for Ukraine, for the health of our medical professionals, and for the resilience of the Ukrainian military. The prayer was led by Archpriest Konstantin, the regional dean of the Donetsk Diocese of the OCU, together with Metropolitan Alexander Drabinko of Pereyaslav and Vyshnevsky.
Yuriy Vinokurov, First Deputy Head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration, addressed the participants and guests: “Today, we express our sincere gratitude to everyone who has dedicated themselves to saving lives. This is the highest calling, one that the Donetsk region and all of Ukraine so desperately need right now. Your work is not just assistance; it is the foundation of our shared hope for recovery and the future.”
The “Order of St. Panteleimon,” often referred to as the “medical Oscar,” is the highest professional award, established in 2006 by Vasyl Knyazevych. He transformed the idea of creating this medical award into a prestigious professional distinction.
This year, the Regional Council selected the best professionals in seven categories. All of them will represent Donetsk Oblast at the national level.
- “Lifeline” – Maksym Melnyk, captain of the medical service of Military Unit 3035 of the National Guard of Ukraine “Charter,”
- “Hero of the Medical Front” – Vladyslav Shvedchikov, senior combat medic of the 18th Sloviansk Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, Military Unit 3035
- “Model of Service to Society” – Viktoria Kotova, Head of Development for the town of Pivnichne, Toretsk District Administration,“Fortress of Health” – Sloviansk Central District Hospital,
- “Heart of Medicine” – Dmytro Tarapaka, senior medical technician in the Rehabilitation Department of the Regional Clinical Traumatology Hospital,
- “Innovator of the Year” – Valeria Rom, oncological surgeon at the Medical Center for Modern Treatment Methods of the Kramatorsk Regional Medical Association,
- “Best Doctor – A Model of the Profession” – Dmytro Uzun, Head of the Department of Cardiovascular and Vascular Surgery at the Mariupol Regional Intensive Care Hospital.
We congratulate our fellow citizens on their victory in the regional round and wish them success in the competition finals! Your work brings hope and life to thousands of people.