Important help: how NKNK supports health establishments during pandemic

Nizhnekamskneftekhim keeps helping Tatarstan’s health care establishments. On 28 November, managers of TAIF JSC and NKNK handed over a gift card for 1,040 hazmat suits to Kazan Federal University’s Clinical Research Centre for Precision and Regenerative Medicine. They are designed to protect doctors when working with patients with coronavirus infection and for clinical trials. This isn’t the first case when Nizhnekamskneftekhim helped the republic’s health care sector. The petrochemical factory has already allocated over 158 million rubles for this.

Gift card award ceremony

“People say that chemistry and the environment are antagonists, but now chemicals are turning into a necessary tool of medical life that will help employees of the medical centre to stay healthy and help patients,” the award ceremony began with such a welcome speech of Director General of TAIF JSC Ruslan Shigabutdinov.

Kazan Federal University’s Clinical Research Centre for Precision and Regenerative Medicine has been replenished with more than thousands of hazmat suits. Doctors need the equipment to fight coronavirus — it will protect them from the infection when contacting infected patients. Health care workers also need the suits during clinical trials. KFU’s medical centre is developing testing systems to diagnose COVID-19 and a vaccine against it, it also helps patients recover after coronavirus.

“The disposable hazmat suits we have been given today is the reserves we need to provide uninterrupted activity. Multiple-use protective suits are also used in the clinic, but at times we urgently need additional reserves. Then it really becomes priceless. So we can provide uninterrupted medical advice knowing that both doctors and patients are protected against the coronavirus infection. The quality of these suits is good, which means that neither our head nor our heart will worry about the employees who are at the forefront in the fight against the virus. According to the norm of use, such suits can be used for four hours. Now around 200 people are working in the centre,” said Director of Clinical Research Centre for Precision and Regenerative Medicine of KFU Albert Rizvanov.

According to KFU’s Rector Ilshat Gafurov, Kazan Federal University has been cooperating with TAIF GC for long. Thanks to the Group of Companies, a new chemical building of the university was built.

“We always need the support of the real sector of the economy even with our university’s budget. It was a surprise for us when Mr Shigabutdinov initiated support in health care several years ago. It seemed to me that these people ran a business and worked in completely different areas, but as you see, life and problems unite people. I would like to say many thanks for today. Nizhnekamsk is petrochemists’ city, and everybody understands why it and the local regional hospitals receive support from the enterprise. But KFU is a federal structure, while Kazan is a city with different segments of the economy, nevertheless, TAIF GC helped us,” Ilshat Gafurov said.

Support for health establishments

Despite the complicated economic situation because of the pandemic, support for health establishments and the republic in the fight against coronavirus already became a common practice for Nizhnekamskneftekhim. The enterprise helped to solve the problem of a shortage of masks in Nizhnekamsk as early as at the beginning of the pandemic. Its subsidiary Polymatiz JSC increased the production of non-woven polypropylene fabric, which was handed over to urban organisations to sew masks.

Our employees of Nizhnekamskneftekhim supported the company’s urge and began sewing masks at home to hand them over to the needy in this company. After an automated line to produce protective masks purchased by NKNK was delivered to Tatarstan, the enterprise repeatedly expanded their production.

It took specialists to unload and assemble the equipment that can produce 2,5 million disposable medical masks every moth just a day. Their mass production began on 13 April already. The masks immediately were sent to health care, transport establishments, public and security agencies, sports, educational, public organisations as well as to the Russian Olympic Committee. The petrochemical company has presented the enterprise over 250,000 masks.

Moreover, doctors who worked in the COVID-19 hospital were provided with accommodation, food and all conditions for rest after tough shifts in The Youth camp before the beginning of the summer holiday for children.

“The employees for us are the main asset, they do a big and responsible job, production is impossible without them. And to keep both our specialists and specialists of other companies healthy, we couldn’t help but support health establishments in the fight against the coronavirus infection. We can save our main potential — people, their health and lives — and continue our activity only with joint efforts helping health workers and science,” Director General of Nizhnekamskneftekhim Ayrat Safin said.

158 million rubles for fighting pandemic

In May, Nizhnekamskneftekhim handed over materials and equipment that are worth 8 million rubles to the Nizhnekamsk Central Regional Multidisciplinary Hospital, including an expensive hazardous medical waste disposal unit health workers need very much. It solved the problem of disinfection and destroys everything that was in contact with patients infected with the coronavirus infection. Before the appearance of the equipment, employees of the Nizhnekamsk hospital had to transport all infected biomaterial to dispose of to Naberezhnye Chelny.

Recently, on 17 November, the petrochemical company handed over equipment and materials at more than 19 million rubles to doctors of the Nizhnekamsk Central Regional Multidisciplinary Hospital.

At the Nizhnekamsk Central Regional Multidisciplinary Hospital management’s request, the enterprise purchased two ventilation units, endoscopic equipment for bronchoscopy, a micro-convex array ultrasound transducer to scan lungs, 32 oxygen valves, 32 medical valves, six ECG machines, five ultraviolet germicidal lamps, 150 feeding tubes for Intensive Care Units, 100 masks for non-invasive ventilation as well as oxygen humidifiers, blood flow meters, contactless thermometers, nasal catheters and so on. Moreover, the company additionally handed over 10,000 protective masks to the health workers.

“We always say that employees are the biggest value of the company. Ironworks, projects, papers can be bought, but people are unique and the key element of the system. TAIF GC has 40,000 specialists, and the majority works in factories. It is important for us they stay healthy. Our slogan ‘Power for the Good’ means that it is necessary to create conditions to work for the family and country’s good as long as possible. For this purpose, we need health whose value increases with age. We would other companies to understand this and follow our example,” Director General of TAIF GC Ruslan Shigabutdinov concluded.

From 2019 to 2020, Nizhnekamskneftekhim, which is part of TAIF GC, has supported urban and republican health care establishments allocating over 158 million rubles for charity. More than 142 million of them have been allocated for the needs of the Nizhnekamsk central hospital.

Moreover, the company responded to doctors’ request for help and is supplying Tatarstan hospitals with liquid oxygen, which is previously transformed into medical oxygen. Liquid oxygen is produced in Nitrogen and Oxygen Station of Nizhnekamskneftekhim PJSC’s Oligomers and Glycols Plant. A new production plan the company’s management has is around 250-350 tonnes a month. If needed, the amount will increase.

By Alsu Gusmanova
Tatarstan