Not taking “no” for an answer

With shipping services to Ukraine suspended, Cook MyoSite employees find another way to send supplies

The most interesting thing about time is when it feels like it stops. This is how it felt for Oksana Klueva on February 24, 2022. She was scrolling through Facebook, something she has done a thousand times before, when she landed on an article highlighting the invasion. Her country of birth, Russia, attacked Ukraine.

The why

Oksana, an Equipment Engineer 2 at Cook MyoSite, was born in Moscow, Russia, where she lived for the first 21 years of her life. After completing her chemistry degree at Moscow State University, Oksana made the decision to come to the United States to pursue a PhD degree. The dissolution of the Soviet Union led to a large disruption of everyday life and caused many ideological changes in Russia. Oksana and her parents suffered the impacts of these changes, especially as scientists. So, her parents thought it would be a good opportunity for Oksana to pursue science in the US. As a self-described introvert, she was hesitant to leave Russia. However, once she came to the US in 1994, she hasn’t gone back.

When Russia invaded Ukraine earlier this year, Oksana, as well as many others, were in shock. Her mother was born in Ukraine, so Oksana would often visit Kherson and Zaporozhie, where she made some of her fondest memories. She described Ukraine as something she holds very close to her heart.

“Russians and Ukrainians were brothers forever,” she said. “I felt like my childhood and how I picture Russia were broken irreversibly. I feel as if my childhood memories were changed.”

Oksana saw fundraisers circulating social media, but she wanted to help Ukraine on a more personal level. In March, she purchased $400 worth of supplies from a list a Ukrainian church in Carnegie, Pennsylvania created. She reached out to others at Cook MyoSite and they also gathered supplies to be donated. Supplies included humanitarian aid such as disinfectants, splints, antibiotic treatments, feminine hygiene products, diapers, powdered infant formula, and other medical grade necessities.

Requests for catheters, gloves, and antiseptic wipes inspired Oksana to ask Materials Manager Brenda McKown for help. Brenda identified three pallets worth of overstock materials that MyoSite had purchased. This included plastic medical materials such as syringes, gloves, face masks, and sterile equipment that would ultimately be thrown away. They were used to perform many different operations on those who were injured, such as amputations for patients that ultimately needed prosthetics.

Once the supplies were gathered, Dominic DeCubellis, Warehouse Operations supervisor, assisted in packing the boxes of materials. He also scheduled the shipment to Ukraine and provided updates on its progress. Then, Carl Dahlstrom, Logistics manager, created a shipping inventory list with US Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) codes that are required for shipping internationally.

Oksana’s cousin in Kiev found a volunteer who could accept the supplies in Ukraine. This was when she ran into her first obstacle. Because of the war, major carriers had suspended shipments to Ukraine.

The how

“Lead with possibility, never give up, and never take ‘no’ for an answer,” is a mindset that is shared among employees at Cook MyoSite. This mindset proved helpful when Tim Bell was recruited to help get the supplies to Ukraine.

Carl and others in the shipping department initially attempted to send the supplies through carriers such as FedEx and UPS but were unsuccessful. After months without progress, Oksana confided in her manager, Dave Stull, and was referred to Tim who had managed MyoSite’s shipping department prior to moving to his current position as a Facilities Maintenance interim manager. He began trying every option he could think of, one of which was reaching out to colleagues at Park 48 that had more knowledge on international distribution. He was then put into contact with Andreas Förster, Senior Director, Corporate Operations – EMEA. Andreas pointed Tim to the Ukrainian American Community Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. This organization was collecting supplies around the US and successfully shipping them to Poland where other contacts delivered them to Ukraine. MyoSite’s supplies were shipped during the first week of August and were received at the end of the month. Shipping was delayed for nearly five months.

As a US Navy veteran, Tim understood how critical donations like this can be for survival. He recalled trying times during his years of active duty when he and his comrades didn’t have the typical supplies they needed and had to resort to innovative alternatives.

“You’re just trying to help people survive at this point,” Tim said.

Oksana and Tim both agreed that this act of service reflects Cook’s mission and values. They praised their colleagues for being so willing to help others and give back. It was a group effort to get the supplies over there.

“Cook’s mission statement is to provide service, provide quality products to patients, and to help them get the service and care that they need. That helped us achieve this goal,” Tim said.

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