LATEST UPDATES:
November 2025: KidsOR Final Report to UCAP (PDF)
October 2025: UCAP co-founders Dr. Irwin Redlener and Karen Redlener joined partners from KidsOR and Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi for the opening of six new pediatric operating rooms at Saint Nicholas Children’s Hospital in Lviv on October 10, 2025. Solar panels will provide the new facilities with a reliable power supply.
PROGRAM OVERVIEW
Since the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the western Ukrainian city of Lviv has become a center for internally displaced people who have migrated from all around Ukraine to seek safety and medical care.
Saint Nicholas Children’s Hospital (SNCH) has stood during this time as an inspiration of healthcare resilience amidst formidable challenges due to the dedication of its health workforce and the incredible perseverance of its physicians and nurses.
SNCH has seen its surgical cases increase by almost three times during the last several years due to the ongoing conflict and is receiving patients from all over the country for general pediatric surgery, neurosurgery, cardiac, ENT, ophthalmology, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and oncology procedures. They are one of only two tertiary burn centers in the entire country, as well as a medical hub for mine explosive injuries and war trauma, which can cause a lifetime of disability or death if not treated effectively and quickly.
Ukraine Children’s Action Project (UCAP) and KidsOR have successfully addressed a critical gap in pediatric surgical care by building six new operating rooms at the St. Nicholas Children’s Hospital (SNCH) in Lviv.
Previously, large sections of the hospital lay unused due to a lack of resources, leaving over 50 trained pediatric surgeons and anesthetists struggling to meet the needs of their young patients.
Through this partnership, UCAP and KidsOR have transformed these empty spaces into state-of-the-art surgical facilities.
These new operating rooms have increased SNCH’s surgical capacity by 30%, enabling an additional 3,650 general and emergency procedures for children each year, and bringing lifesaving care within reach for thousands of families across Ukraine.
Learn more about KidsOR here.
