An innovative RECOVERY rehabilitation center for Ukrainian defenders who were injured in combat has opened in Ternopil. This marks the 17th center in the national RECOVERY network, founded by Victor and Olena Pinchuk to support Ukraine’s Security and Defense Forces.
The RECOVERY project exemplifies a successful partnership between the private sector and the state, where philanthropists develop innovative rehabilitation centers based on public medical institutions. Using project funds, one of Ternopil’s key hospitals has been transformed into a cutting-edge rehabilitation center that meets global standards of technology and inclusivity. Each year, over 1,000 service members will receive free, high-quality, evidence-based rehabilitation care at this RECOVERY center.
During a meeting with soldiers recovering in the Ternopil center, project founder Victor Pinchuk noted: “We won’t be able to complete the rehabilitation of our heroes for many years, as many of them will need to work on it for a lifetime. Rehabilitation remains vital even after the ceasefire and the hot phase of the war. We believe that moment is not far off,” he said, adding: “It’s important for us to keep developing this rehabilitation system. Society and the country must understand that our heroes are giving a significant part of their health in this war.”
The treatment and rehabilitation area, located on the first floor of the RECOVERY center in Ternopil, includes a large physical therapy hall, rooms for occupational therapy, psychological support, assistive technologies, physiotherapy, magnetotherapy, laser therapy, massage, and speech and language therapy.
The center is equipped with innovative simulators and devices that address a full spectrum of functional impairments, including those caused by gunshot wounds and explosive injuries.
The physical rehabilitation rooms feature virtual reality (VR) systems that provide real-time feedback to patients. This equipment gamifies the rehabilitation process, increasing the intensity of training and speeding up recovery. Task-oriented exercises boost motivation, and built-in analytics programs allow for efficient patient monitoring and rehabilitation assessment.
In addition to VR technology, the center includes systems for coordination and balance training, gait recovery, mobile vital signs monitors, and devices that reduce pain and inflammation and promote healing.
The entire center is designed to global standards of inclusivity: wide doorways, no thresholds, non-slip flooring, handrails in hallways, and accessible bathrooms and showers ensure comfortable and safe movement for patients.
The inpatient unit on the second floor includes a nursing station and 12 patient rooms, each equipped with electric functional beds, ergonomic furniture, and accessible bathrooms with showers.
This environment enables a multidisciplinary rehabilitation team — including physicians in physical rehabilitation medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, psychologists, speech and language therapists, and massage therapists — to provide professional care to wounded soldiers. “At the RECOVERY center, soldiers with amputations, traumatic brain injuries, and musculoskeletal damage are learning to walk again, quite literally. Thanks to state-of-the-art equipment and fully inclusive facilities, we are giving them not just rehabilitation, but a new beginning. Every achievement they make is a small victory that brings us closer to the greater goal: returning a full life to those who gave everything for our freedom,” said Dr. Iryna Kamyshna, Doctor of Medical Sciences, Professor, and Head of the RECOVERY Rehabilitation Center in Ternopil.
Currently, there are 17 RECOVERY centers operating across Ukraine — in Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk region (three centers), Kyiv (two centers), Lutsk, Lviv, Odesa (two centers), Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, Khmelnytskyi, Cherkasy, Chernivtsi, and Chernihiv. More than 23,000 service members have already received rehabilitation services in the RECOVERY network centers.
Founders Victor and Olena Pinchuk plan to expand the RECOVERY network to at least 19 innovative rehabilitation centers, capable of serving up to 26,000 soldiers annually.