Diana Cimpoeșu, Head of the UPU-SMURD Iași Emergency Department: “Emergency medicine in the Moldova Region needs strategic support, not just enthusiasm”

Public health in the Moldova Region is undergoing one of the most complex and sensitive transitions in recent years.

Despite the efforts made by the authorities, the healthcare system remains unbalanced: vast areas are medically underserved, hospitals in small towns suffer from staff shortages, and hospital infrastructure is not keeping pace with the real needs of the population.

All these dysfunctions affect not only patient safety but also the region’s economic prospects. A region without a functional healthcare system can neither attract investments nor be competitive at national and international levels. More than ever, health is a strategic component of regional development.

REGIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM MOLDOVA 2025 – HEALTH, A STRATEGIC PILLAR

In this context, the Regional Economic Forum Moldova 2025, organized by the Center for Regional Development Analysis and Planning (CAPDR), proposes a multidisciplinary dialogue about the region’s future, to be held between July 9–13 in Vatra Dornei. One of the most important panels will be dedicated to Health and Medical Services in the Moldova Region, with the participation of medical, administrative, and private healthcare entrepreneurship figures.

As a preamble to this event, the regional TV station Antena 3 Suceava aired a special edition of the show “În Prim Plan”, moderated by journalist Dinu Zară, which hosted a debate on the regional healthcare system. Among the guests was Prof. Univ. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu, Head of UPU-SMURD Iași, a prominent figure in the field, who joined by phone.

EMERGENCY MEDICINE IN THE MOLDOVA REGION: “A system centered on Iași, but with decentralization efforts”

Prof. Univ. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu, one of the most respected voices in Romanian emergency medicine, joined the show via phone, offering a clear and realistic perspective on the current challenges.

“From the early stages of training, we try to attract students to emergency medicine – a beautiful but demanding specialty. Then come the residents, whom we train in Iași, but the real challenge is to convince them to go to municipal and county hospitals,” stated Diana Cimpoeșu.

She described a phenomenon of professional attraction focused on university centers, especially Iași, which acts as a retention hub for medical human resources. As a result, many healthcare units in the rest of the region are facing specialized staff shortages, particularly in rural areas or smaller towns.

Nevertheless, there are also examples of good practice – hospitals that have managed to attract young doctors by offering decent working conditions, a sense of professional belonging, and prospects for development.

AERIAL MEDICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: A NEW CHANCE FOR CRITICAL PATIENTS

In a statement with major impact, Dr. Cimpoeșu announced the opening of a new air medical base in Suceava County, in Câmpulung Moldovenesc, intended to serve the entire Moldova region.

“We hope this air medical base will become a concrete way of saving lives for critically ill patients in hard-to-reach areas. It’s a project that will significantly enhance mobility in emergency interventions, reduce response times, and save lives.”

This initiative comes at a time when more and more doctors are pointing out the urgent need for modern, connected, and integrated medical infrastructure at the regional level — especially for major emergencies where every minute counts.

INTERINSTITUTIONAL COOPERATION AND THE ROLE OF CONTINUOUS MEDICAL EDUCATION

An essential topic discussed in the program was the cooperation between civilian and military emergency structures, as well as the crucial role of ongoing education for paramedics and auxiliary staff.

“We’ve trained dozens of ISU paramedics in Iași, who are now capable of performing first aid maneuvers, transmitting vital signs in real time, and working side by side with doctors — especially in areas where human resources are lacking,” said the Head of UPU-SMURD Iași, highlighting the importance of telemedicine and interdisciplinary cooperation.

These complex interventions are made possible thanks to ongoing training and close collaboration between SMURD units, hospitals, and ambulance services, as well as a mindset grounded in trust, professional respect, and a shared regional vision.

Ion Ștefanovici: “We must encourage and sustain professional cooperation across the region”

Ion Ștefanovici, President of the Center for Regional Development Analysis and Planning (CAPDR), spoke about the motivation behind inviting Professor Diana Cimpoeșu to the Regional Economic Forum Moldova 2025 and about the essential role of collaboration among medical professionals in the North-East Region.

“Allow me first to warmly welcome Professor Doctor Cimpoeșu, who over the years has impressed us with her perseverance, her capacity, her drive, and her determination — showing that in our region, especially in Iași, great things can be achieved.”

Ștefanovici specifically emphasized Dr. Cimpoeșu’s contribution in mentoring other medical leaders in the region, such as Dr. Ramona Guraliuc, Head of the Emergency Department in Botoșani:

“I have extraordinary respect for Dr. Cimpoeșu, including for her teaching efforts, because I know many examples — speaking of human resources, and staying focused on that topic — of residencies where, for instance, there will also be a phone call with Dr. Ramona Guraliuc, Head of the Botoșani ER. Dr. Cimpoeșu has been a role model for Dr. Guraliuc.”

In his view, these long-standing professional relationships must be actively supported and encouraged at the regional level:

“That relationship of respect, but also professional collaboration, has continued, it has strengthened, and it’s a great model. And this is where my role ends, as someone outside the profession — to reinforce, perpetuate, and encourage this formula of regional cooperation.”

Ion Ștefanovici stressed that beyond the symbolism of having prominent figures like Diana Cimpoeșu attend, the real stake of the Forum is a strategic one — the active participation of healthcare leaders in shaping the region’s long-term vision:

“Thank you very much, Professor Doctor Cimpoeșu, for accepting the invitation to come to Vatra Dornei. I know how busy your schedule is, and how difficult and exhausting this journey is — although it shouldn’t be. But thank you for coming and for bringing value, for joining this collective regional effort.”

At the end of his intervention, the CAPDR president directly linked Diana Cimpoeșu’s contribution to the Multiannual Strategic Document for the Moldova Region, currently under development within the Forum:

“The added value you are bringing to the Multiannual Strategic Document of the Moldova Region — which we are currently working on intensely — will undoubtedly generate benefits for the entire region. Once again, thank you very much!”

Ion Ștefanovici: “There are people who not only save lives but offer direction to society through their example of professionalism, balance, and dedication. Professor Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu, Head of UPU-SMURD Iași, is one of those people.”

CAPDR President Ion Ștefanovici delivered a message of deep appreciation for Professor Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu. Through this statement, Ștefanovici emphasized not only the importance of reforms and investments but especially the essential role of dedicated people who make the healthcare system function every day, often under difficult circumstances. This human and professional perspective will be brought into discussion during the Health Panel, a core component of the Forum.

“There are people who not only save lives but offer direction to society through their example of professionalism, balance, and dedication.”

“Professor Dr. Carmen Diana Cimpoeșu, Head of UPU-SMURD Iași, is one of these people. Through her work, the emergency medical system in Iași has become a model of functionality, coordination, and regional responsibility. Moreover, she is a human and professional benchmark for the entire Moldova Region — a region that, often silently, relies on the vocation and inner strength of doctors like her.”

At FERM 2025, we have the honor of including this lucid and engaged voice in the Health Panel, at a time when the healthcare system needs not only investment and reform but people who truly understand — from within — what a night shift means, what the silence of a difficult decision feels like, and how fragile human life can be.”

Medicine is not just a profession. It is a vow renewed daily — in every hospital, in every ambulance, in every choice made for someone else’s well-being.”

FERM is not just a forum. It is a bridge between those who plan regional development and those who live it, moment by moment, in emergency rooms and on the invisible frontlines of public health.”

On behalf of the CAPDR team, we thank you, Professor, for being part of this shared mission. Real change begins with recognizing those who know what it means to be there — when every second counts.”

PERSONAL CONVICTION: In the Moldova Region, emergency medicine is not just about response — it is about commitment. Where infrastructure falls short, true support comes from the strength of doctors. And where the system is fragile, resilience comes from the character of those who choose to stay and bear the burden.”, stated the CAPDR president.

From Dialogue to Strategy – Health at the Core of Regional Development

The debate organized during the “În Prim Plan” show on Antena 3 Suceava offered more than just an x-ray of the healthcare system in the North-East Region. It was a meeting between medical expertise and strategic vision, between the everyday realities in hospitals and macro-level plans for a more balanced and functional future.

The interventions of Prof. Univ. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu and CAPDR President Ion Ștefanovici illustrated the essential complementarity between those who train, coordinate, and save lives in the field and those who build institutional, strategic, and financial support mechanisms. Their dialogue highlighted both the system’s urgent needs—such as retaining medical personnel, equipping hospitals outside university centers, and developing emergency infrastructure—and the concrete, viable solutions already tested or in progress: from the air medical base in Câmpulung to interinstitutional networks for regional cooperation.

These ideas will not only be presented but also explored in depth during the Panel 6 – Health and Medical Services in the Moldova Region, scheduled for July 9, 2025, as part of the Regional Economic Forum Moldova in Vatra Dornei. The panel brings together key stakeholders in the healthcare field: public hospital managers, emergency medicine leaders, university professors, healthcare entrepreneurs, and representatives of public authorities. The declared goal is ambitious yet realistic: to develop a roadmap for modernizing the regional healthcare system, based on European funding, digitalization, continuous professional training, and territorial equity in access to services.

At the same time, the Multiannual Strategic Document of the Moldova Region, currently being drafted at CAPDR’s initiative, will integrate these contributions, proposals, and action directions, turning them into public policies with concrete impact for the 2025–2030 period.

The broadcast on Antena 3 Suceava thus served as a genuine prelude to a broader process of participatory construction of a regional health strategy—a demonstration of real involvement, dialogue across decision-making levels, and mutual professional respect. Moldova needs this type of collaboration—between hospitals, local administrations, universities, and civil society—to rebuild its healthcare system on sustainable and people-oriented foundations.