The 15th innovative rehabilitation center for injured soldiers has begun operations in Chernivtsi. Every year, over 2,000 defenders of Ukraine will be able to access high-quality, free rehabilitation services at the center. Currently, it is the largest facility in the RECOVERY network, established 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 create innovative rehabilitation centers within public healthcare facilities. The new center has 61 beds, making it the largest in the national RECOVERY network. Spanning three floors of a key medical institution in Bukovina, the state-of-the-art center is equipped to provide world-class care.
During a meeting with military personnel at the newly opened center, Victor Pinchuk, the founder of the RECOVERY project, remarked: “You know what I felt in this, the 15th RECOVERY center? How crucial it is now to do everything so our defenders feel valued. Today, they are literally our VIPs because the most important people for the nation are those on the frontlines and those preparing to go there. We are doing everything to meet the highest global standards, setting a benchmark for the state, other philanthropists, and international partners. These standards should become universal across the country.”
The center is built to the highest standards of inclusivity and technological advancement, ensuring the best rehabilitation services for Ukraine’s soldiers. Its comprehensive set of equipment addresses a wide range of functional impairments, including injuries caused by explosive devices.
The physical rehabilitation rooms are equipped with cutting-edge virtual reality (VR) systems that provide real-time feedback to patients. This technology gamifies rehabilitation exercises, enhancing motivation, intensifying training, and accelerating recovery. Task-oriented exercises increase engagement, while built-in analysis programs help monitor patient progress and evaluate outcomes effectively. In addition to VR, the center features Bobath and massage systems, limb rehabilitation equipment, balance correction devices, joint mobilization systems, and sling therapy apparatus.
As with other RECOVERY centers, the Chernivtsi facility is designed to meet accessibility standards: wide doorways, threshold-free entryways, non-slip medical flooring, handrails in corridors, wheelchair-accessible restrooms, and showers with seating and grab bars.
On the ground floor, the center houses large and small physical rehabilitation halls, an occupational therapy hall, and rooms for physiotherapy, laser therapy, assistive technologies, psychotherapy (both group and individual), and speech therapy. There are also two massage rooms, staff facilities, an inventory room, and a pharmacy.
The second and third floors feature 22 patient rooms: 4 single-occupancy, 6 double-occupancy, 3 triple-occupancy, and 9 quadruple-occupancy rooms. Each room is equipped with functional beds, accessible bathrooms, and comfortable furniture. These floors also include medical stations, dining areas, and procedure rooms, ensuring comfort and high-quality medical care for patients.
Vitaliy Polataychuk, head of the medical institution hosting the Chernivtsi RECOVERY center, emphasized:
“With a powerful multidisciplinary team and modern equipment, we expect not only to double the capacity for rehabilitation services but also to ensure their highest quality. It is crucial that our military personnel, who defend our country, receive timely rehabilitation care.”
The multidisciplinary teams at RECOVERY centers include specialists in physical rehabilitation medicine, physical therapists, occupational therapists, massage therapists, assistants, speech and language therapists, and psychologists. Each patient receives an individualized rehabilitation plan, supported by innovative equipment to deliver evidence-based, top-tier care.
RECOVERY is a national network of rehabilitation centers for injured soldiers. In addition to the Chernivtsi center, RECOVERY facilities also operate in Kyiv (two centers), Lviv, Rivne, Lutsk, Vinnytsia, Cherkasy, Poltava, Khmelnytskyi, Odesa (two centers), and Dnipropetrovsk Oblast (three centers). To date, over 18,000 patients have received rehabilitation services through the network.