Supporting Action for Emergency Response (SAFER) Ukraine
SAFER Ukraine is a humanitarian effort launched following the Russian invasion of Ukraine to provide safe passage for childhood cancer patients and their families needing to evacuate.
SAFER: Supporting Action for Emergency Response in Ukraine
SAFER Ukraine established a virtual command center to coordinate evacuations and ensure treatment continues for pediatric oncology patients. The process includes determining transportation logistics and identifying high-risk patients who are deteriorating.
The SAFER Ukraine team and volunteers translate medical records, coordinate departure travel and manage the logistics of transport across the border.
The team also established a triage center in Poland. Patients and their families can rest and recover from the evacuation while awaiting assignment to a clinic for continued treatment.
The St. Jude Global Alliance, which includes institutional partners in the Euro region, was established in 2018. Part of the work of the Alliance is empowering communication among institutional partners, which contributed to the development of SAFER Ukraine. Immediately after the invasion of Ukraine, the St. Jude Global Euro Regional Program mobilized. The team began working with institutions in the region to determine how to ensure continued treatment for all pediatric oncology patients. As part of this effort, a virtual command center is staffed 24 hours a day.
What is the evacuation process?
To evacuate from Ukraine into Poland using SAFER Ukraine, a patient’s family or clinician contacts the Tabletochki Charity Foundation. The foundation obtains the patient’s medical records and sends the information to SAFER Ukraine for translation. The patient and his or her accompanying family members travel to a safe and central departure point in Ukraine where they and others meet their assigned transportation. Once across the border, the patients and families travel to a central triage center to rest and await coordination of their transfer to a clinic where they will continue treatment.
What is the Unicorn Clinic?
Unicorn Marian Wilemski Clinic is a triage center where patients and their families can rest, eat and sleep while medical staff determine where they will relocate for treatment.
Why don't patients remain in Poland?
The evacuation of pediatric cancer patients and their families from Ukraine is a large-scale operation. SAFER Ukraine is grateful for the partnership of the Polish government and its pediatric oncology community, including the Fundacja Herosi and the Polish Society of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology, to provide a safe place for these patients when they initially cross the border. To alleviate the burden on Polish hospitals, SAFER Ukraine is working with governments and hospitals around the world to identify the best clinic for each patient to continue their treatment while also limiting the disruption of relocating. More than 20 countries have offered capacity to welcome these patients.
Who is involved in the evacuation process?
SAFER Ukraine is possible due to the global pediatric oncology community, including the support of foundations, governments and professional organizations along with countless dedicated and determined volunteers. St. Jude Global staff are working with Fundacja Herosi (Poland), Tabletochki Charity Foundation (Ukraine), Daruieste Viata (Romania), Polish Society of Paediatric Oncology and Haematology, Western Ukrainian Specialized Children's Medical Centre and numerous other colleagues in the region.
Who pays for the patient's treatment?
SAFER Ukraine works with each receiving country’s government to ensure coverage of medical costs.
Evacuating Patients from Ukraine to Poland
Pediatric patients arriving at the Polish border are greeted by experienced oncologists to determine if any patients need to be immediately transported to a hospital by ambulance. Those remaining in the convoy are escorted by Polish police to the Unicorn Marian Wilemski Clinic. The Unicorn clinic, located in a former hotel, has the capacity for as many as 300 people, including patients and families. When patients and their families arrive at Unicorn, they have space to rest, eat and sleep for a few days while it is determined where they will go to continue their care.
Countries offering support to pediatric hematology/oncology patients and their families from Ukraine
SAFER Conversations
SAFER conversations are webinars hosted by St. Jude Global and the International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) in collaboration with partners to support clinicians providing care to displaced children with cancer and families affected by conflict.
This forum aims to help healthcare professionals worldwide stay connected, share learnings, and provide professional support to peers in these unprecedented times. Moderated by Lori Weiner from National Cancer Institute, the event features speakers and panelists from St. Jude, SIOP, and partner organizations including the Medical University of Lodz, Tabletochki Charity Foundation, and the Prinses Maxima Centrum.
