Two Ukrainian Red Cross Society volunteers receive highest intl awards for doctors

Two volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) rapid response unit, Iryna Shyrochenko and Valentyna Prysiazhniuk, received the highest international awards for medical workers - the Florence Nightingale Medal.

A doctor by training, Shyrochenko (a URCS volunteer since 2016) participated in the rotations of the East mission, repeatedly worked in front-line regions, evacuated people from vulnerable population groups from Irpin and Bucha in the first days of the full-scale invasion, and provided first aid after the shelling of Kyiv. She participated in the organization of mobile Ukrainian Red Cross Society points at train stations.

An intern in orthopedics and traumatology at Kyiv City Hospital, Prysiazhniuk (a URCS volunteer since 2017) worked in Kyiv region at the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, evacuated victims of shelling and provided first aid. After the attack on the Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital in July 2024, she participated in providing assistance to victims, including children with spinal injuries and on artificial ventilation.

The Florence Nightingale Medal was established in 1912 by the International Committee of the Red Cross. It is awarded for exceptional courage, devotion and charity during armed conflicts or natural disasters. It is presented every two years, on May 12, Nightingale’s birthday. In Ukraine, more than 20 volunteers and employees of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society have already been awarded this award.

This year, 35 medical workers from different countries of the world received the Florence Nightingale Medal.

Florence Nightingale was a British nurse, health reformer and founder of modern nursing, a symbol of charity and professionalism in the medical field. During the Crimean War (1853–1856), she organized care for wounded soldiers in field hospitals.