Gorlovka Infant Hospital

The Gorlovka Infant Hospital has a special department dedicated to the treatment and care of orphans from birth to age of four. On average there are 12-30 children at a time in the care of the hospital. These are either abandoned children or children whose parents are in the process of losing parental rights. It is both a treatment facility for sick orphans and a temporary residence for children who have not yet received legal orphan status as declared by the courts.

Since 1991 children without families who are sick or with special needs have been placed in the Gorlovka Infant Hospital for treatment and care. Six separate room were set aside for them in the hospital because there was no place else for orphans needing special care or children with unclear orphan status. At the age of 4 they are transferred to an agency appropriate for their care. These children are available for adoption only by Ukrainians and they do not hold the legal status of full orphans until they are transferred.

Many of the children that come through the Gorlovka Infant Hospital orphan ward are healthy. Some have special needs such as cerebral palsy, down syndrome, burns, hydrocephalus, and leg injuries. Still others are victims of parental abuse and receive treatment at the hospital while waiting for parental custody to be terminated and for an assignment to a permanent orphanage.

The building itself is in good condition. They have recently been able to repair several rooms. There is little medical equipment available to them. Two shifts of some doctors, a caregiver, and a few nurses work with the children.