Mary Elizabeth’s Hospital for Children, Adolescents and Young Adults (Copenhagen, Denmark) and the Kyiv Regional Children's Hospital (Municipal Non-Commercial Enterprise of the Kyiv Regional Council)

A Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions was signed during the Third Summit of First Ladies and Gentlemen, held in September 2023.
This partnership opens up new opportunities for knowledge exchange, professional development of medical personnel, and improved treatment for children.

The First Lady visited the rehabilitation unit of the Kyiv Regional Children's Hospital, which provides care to children under 18 with significant functional limitations and high-level disabilities.

The hospital is actively evolving into a comprehensive medical services cluster. It has established an integrated system of departments for families raising children with disabilities. These include a rehabilitation unit staffed by a multidisciplinary team—occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, speech therapists, and specialists in early intervention and in-hospital rehabilitation—as well as a palliative care department.

The institutions plan to collaborate in several key areas, including oncology and oncohematology, surgery (including reconstructive surgery), rare (orphan) diseases, rehabilitation, and more. They also intend to exchange best practices in healthcare facility management.

Another important area of collaboration is pediatric rehabilitation. Pediatric rehabilitation is a specialized field focused on addressing the unique needs of children and infants, aimed at optimizing their functioning. It combines habilitation (acquisition of new skills and abilities) and rehabilitation (restoration of previously acquired skills) in close coordination with the child’s developmental processes.

The Kyiv Regional Children’s Hospital has already established a full continuum of care for families with children with disabilities—from rehabilitation, where a multidisciplinary medical team (including occupational therapists, physical therapists, psychologists, and speech therapists) operates, to palliative care.