Since shortly after the Russian invasion of Ukraine earlier this year, the Tigard-based humanitarian relief agency Medical Teams International (MTI) has been on the ground responding to the crisis. As Russia’s aggression continues to cause mass migration, loss of life, and destruction, Medical Teams International continues to provide needed supplies and medical care to refugees crossing into Moldova and to the injured and ill within Ukraine. As Martha Newsome, President & CEO of MTI recently said, “the world continues to watch in disbelief and with great sadness, Ukrainians are struggling to survive amidst the chaos of war.”
The situation has seen, and will continue to see, increasing volatility — reportedly more than five million refugees have crossed into Ukraine’s neighboring countries of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Moldova, and other countries since February 2022. With many towns and villages almost completely wiped out, hotels and homes in western Ukraine bursting at the seams with displaced families seeking safety, how have on-the-ground workers and volunteers responded to deliver urgent medical and psychological care to refugees? And what is the short- and long-term outlook from those on the frontlines?
This presentation will feature Medical Teams International’s Patty Hutton, Response Specialist, supporting emergency response in Ukraine, and Joe DiCarlo, MTI’s Global Ambassador and member of WorldOregon’s Board of Advisors, for a look at the current situation and outlook on the crisis in Ukraine.
About the Speakers
Patty Hutton is currently a Response Specialist at Medical Teams International, focused on supporting the Ukraine response. Since 2010, Patty has served across several response contexts with various international NGOs, including Iraq, Haiti (the 2010 earthquake, Hurricanes Isaac and Matthew), Philippines, South Sudan, Bangladesh, Darfur, Somaliland, Lebanon, Greece, Sudan, Ethiopia, and most recently Ukraine. She received her master’s degree in Public Policy from Pepperdine University, and she also received her PhD in March of this year, in Organizational Leadership—with her dissertation topic focusing on Humanitarian Fatigue in humanitarian aid leaders. Patty has also spent time working on a presidential campaign and has also spent some time outside of the aid world working with an environmental justice organization.
Joe DiCarlo is Medical Teams International’s Global Ambassador. When Hurricane Mitch barreled through Central America in 1998, Joe mobilized a team of medical professionals to help suffering families recover. This was his first assignment – responding to the second-deadliest hurricane in recorded history. Over the course of his 20 years at Medical Teams International, Joe’s led dozens of disaster responses. Seeing the suffering on a mother’s face is what drives him to help Medical Teams International implement programs that provide for the whole person. He currently serves as Medical Teams’ Global Ambassador, where he builds faith partnerships both domestically and internationally and provides duty of care services for the staff.
