Dr. Olga Lazar gives Dr. Sergey Parfentyev a tour of a hospital room at Medical College of Georgia. Dr. Parfentyev has asked physicians throughout the Augusta area to donate equipment to help him improve a medical clinic near his home in Ukraine. TODD BENNETT/STAFF

Ukrainian doctor seeks help

Web posted February 24, 2000

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By Clarissa J. Walker
Staff Writer

During his trip to the Garden City, a Ukrainian physician made a modest request of his Augusta colleagues: that they donate available equipment, excess medications and any usable medical necessities -- all lacking in the ill-supplied free clinic he opened in his home, Odessa, in 1995.

Dr. Sergey Parfentyev arrived in Augusta in early February to have surgery on a detached retina.

Though the primary purpose of his trip was to care for his own ailment, Dr. Parfentyev took the opportunity Wednesday to tour the Medical College of Georgia facilities, hoping to find ways to improve his small Odessa clinic, which has a patient load that he says overwhelms its team of volunteer physicians.

But more important, Dr. Parfentyev appealed to Augusta-area medical facilities that might have medical equipment or supplies that he could take home.

Scarcity is the only thing that's abundant in the small Ukrainian city on the Black Sea, said Dr. Chuck Simpson, a Harlem native who has volunteered in Odessa since 1992. Ukraine is a former Soviet republic.

``They have no medicines,'' he said, adding that the two will return to Ukraine in March. ``Stuff that we throw away here, they could use and reuse with their sterilization procedure.''

The lack of equipment is the reason Dr. Parfentyev came to the United States for eye surgery.

Being former Odessa missionaries themselves, several MCG physicians knew Dr. Parfentyev and arranged for him to have the surgery at no cost at Retina Eye Center in west Augusta.

``All the doctors can do (in Odessa) is examine and prescribe, but they have nothing to give them,'' Dr. Simpson said.

Ulcers, gastrointestinal problems, cardiovascular diseases and tuberculosis can't be treated properly at the Odessa clinic because the supply of medication is often depleted, said Dr. Igor Lazar, translating for Dr. Parfentyev, who speaks only Russian.

``Every patient is helped regardless of their financial status or their religious beliefs. They try to help as much as they can,'' Dr. Lavar said.

Among the clinic's needs are blood pressure cuffs, equipment to examine eyes, thermometers, gowns, disposable syringes, glucometers, desktop equipment for laboratory monitoring and reference books, Dr. Lavar said. To donate items, call Dr. Simpson at (706) 556-3903 or Dr. Daniel Rahn at (706) 721-7346.

Reach Clarissa J. Walker at (706) 828-3851.