Health & Fitness
Ukrainian Doctor finds support at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael
Natalya Greyz, MD, warmed by support she received from staff and patients at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael as war hits Ukraine
At the beginning of the online profile for Kaiser Permanente San Rafael Physician Natalya Greyz, MD, is the phrase “zdoroven’ki buli՚,” which is Ukrainian for “hello.” After joining Kaiser Permanente in 2005, Greyz said it was important for her to have that phrase on her profile because she wanted everyone to understand who she is and where she came from.
At that time, Ukraine was a beautiful, peaceful country with large prospering farms and burgeoning cities. Greyz and her husband Tim married in Ukraine and went to medical school there.
Fast forward to 2022, and Ukraine is a very different place after being devastated by a Russian invasion.
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“Nobody is safe there anymore, “ says Greyz, who is always thinking about her friends and close family back in Ukraine. Although much of her family has immigrated to the Bay Area and elsewhere in the United States, Greyz said she and her husband often feel powerless to help the situation in their homeland.
But it’s the support of her co-workers and patients at Kaiser Permanente San Rafael that Greyz says keeps her spirits up.
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Recently, she came to work at and found everyone in the Department of Hematology and Oncology dressed in blue-and-yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag.
“It was everyone—the pharmacists, the medical assistants, the nurses, the techs---everyone in blue-and-yellow,” said Greyz. “It was such a beautiful token.”
And it’s not only her medical staff that shown support.
Greyz says she’s received dozens of cards from her patients, all offering help and support to her and her family.
“I’m so thrilled that people are reaching out and offering support,” says Greyz. “But still, I find myself close to tears every day seeing what’s happening to my homeland.”
Greyz thinks of her medical school in Dnipro, Ukraine often, recalling how she graduated from the school exactly 50 years after her own grandmother received a medical degree there. She also remains concerned about the Ukranian people who are suffering daily.
Greyz says she’s hopeful that soon there will be a way to bridge the animosity and find solutions to the crisis.
After all, she says “zdoroven’ki buli՚ also means “good health to you."
