Domestic tourism and recovery programs after COVID-19. What are the Vitebsk region sanatoriums focusing on?
The Vitebsk regional department of the Republican Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium-Resort Treatment of the Population also notes a decrease in demand for our vouchers among foreigners. For comparison: in the first quarter of this year, 1.8 thousand foreign citizens vacationed in our health resorts, while in the same period of 2020, there were almost three times more of them. The occupancy of sanatoriums during the reporting period was 70%.
The current circumstances have forced domestic sanatoriums to adapt to the situation and seek new approaches to stay afloat.
– All 12 sanatorium and resort organizations of the region have developed and implemented programs for restorative treatment after pneumonia associated with COVID-19 infection. In addition, since June, sanatoriums have been given the opportunity to vaccinate foreigners against coronavirus on a paid basis, – said Snezhana Titova, head of the representative office of the Vitebsk regional department of the Republican Center for Health Improvement and Sanatorium-Resort Treatment of the Population. – In general, the region's health resorts provide 360 types of medical services for the treatment and prevention of the most common diseases of the musculoskeletal system, gastrointestinal tract, nervous and cardiovascular systems. Along with therapeutic and restorative procedures, climatotherapy occupies an important place; the main natural factors in the region are mineral waters, peat mud, and lake sapropels. It should be noted that all health resorts have taken the necessary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus infection among employees and vacationers.
As of today, out of 2.7 thousand beds in the health resorts of the Vitebsk region, about 2.3 thousand are occupied, of which over 600 people are undergoing sanatorium-resort treatment under the vouchers of the Republican Center, and about 500 vouchers have been sold to foreign citizens.
Under the vouchers of state social insurance for working residents of the region, Lepel Military Sanatorium, "Lesnye Ozera", "Lyottsy", the branch of the regional cardiology center "Zheleznyaki" are accepting patients this year, and children are treated at DRC "Zhemchuzhina" and "Rosinka" Sanatorium. At the expense of the republican budget, disabled individuals and veterans of the Great Patriotic War, non-working disabled individuals of groups I and II, and other preferential categories can improve their health at the Lepel Military Sanatorium. In the same institution and DRC "Vetrazy", children with disabilities undergo rehabilitation with state support.
One of the largest sanatoriums in the Vitebsk region is "Lyottsy", designed for 324 beds. Therefore, the issue of selling vouchers during not the best times for the industry arose quite acutely here. A kind of lifeline was the inclusion of the trade union health resort in the list of organizations for the purchase of services for sanatorium-resort treatment and health improvement for 2021 within the framework of state social insurance.
– This is a great help for us. Today, about half of the vacationers from among Belarusian citizens came to us on social insurance vouchers, – commented the director of the Lyottsy sanatorium, Alexey Moiseichenko. – In general, we note an increase in domestic demand, including thanks to the work that we carried out jointly with the Federation of Trade Unions of Belarus before the start of the summer season; we intensified trips in the winter period, including weekend tours. This helped us to be full now. Currently, about 80% of vacationers are our compatriots, although previously foreign guests predominated and accounted for at least 70%. We hope that those Russians who could not get to us last year due to travel restrictions will come this summer. At the same time, we will continue to focus on the domestic market. We will make every effort to organize a barrier-free environment for people with disabilities; throughout the year, we plan to adapt the sanatorium's territory to their needs, and equip a special room for the comfortable stay of such guests.
The program for recovery after coronavirus pneumonia largely helped to attract compatriots. Physiotherapist Natalia Gerasimova noted that the sanatorium's pulmonology profile has become particularly relevant. The special course for lung health includes an extensive list of techniques, natural factors, namely pine air and mineral waters, which help patients breathe easier and restore overall health after the illness.
– Chloride-sodium baths with bromine and iodine, known for their general health-improving effect, dilate blood vessels in the lungs, improve bronchial patency, and also have a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, which is no less important after recovering from coronavirus disease, – says the medic. – The recovery treatment also includes local applications of sapropel mud and ozokerite. All kinds of hardware physiotherapy procedures on the chest area allow reducing lung fibrosis after "covid" pneumonias.
Most of the methods were previously used by local specialists when working with patients with chronic diseases of the bronchopulmonary system. Some were implemented, so to speak, to address current needs. In particular, since this year, "Lyottsy" has been equipped with a salt cave with a capacity of 10 places; speleotherapy sessions are recommended for post-COVID pneumonia and neuroses. The physical therapy room has been supplemented with a device for intravenous laser blood irradiation: this procedure is considered quite progressive, enhances the body's defenses, and strengthens the cardiovascular system, which is also relevant today.
– The novel coronavirus affects not only the lungs. We have had many patients with damage to the cerebral blood vessels, heart, joints, muscles, and nervous system after the infection. These are not only elderly people and patients with chronic diseases, although they are the majority. Young people and even children needed rehabilitation therapy, – shared Natalia Gerasimova.
In this regard, the sanatorium's developments in all its profiles have been useful in combating the consequences of COVID-19.
The adopted set of measures and the development of new areas of focus helped "Lyottsy" to operate with almost 100% occupancy in June.
A similar situation is observed in a number of other sanatoriums in the Vitebsk region. However, making forecasts about how the season will end in the context of a constantly changing epidemiological situation is an unreliable matter. Only one thing can be stated with certainty: the pandemic has served as a kind of shake-up for the domestic sanatorium and resort industry, which has turned towards the domestic market, and Belarusians have been able to look anew and appreciate the opportunities for health improvement and recreation that our region offers, and in some aspects, it is not inferior to foreign resorts.