The way to distribute vouchers to the departmental sanatorium and resort establishments of the State Border Guard Service is now open and fair.

The analysis showed that in recent years border guards, veterans and their families did not have completely equal access to departmental sanatorium treatment. The overwhelming majority of vouchers were distributed by the State Border Guard Service Administration, Regional Directorates received much smaller, and the Border Guard Detachments - just miserable amount of them. Moreover, in summer, the number of people from the Administration who experienced a “need to heal” was significantly higher than at other times of the year. To a large extent, due to such disparities, border guards who were not holding high positions felt deprived.

By the way, the issue of border guards' health improvement in departmental institutions was raised during the SBGS Board in February. In particular, supporting the staff of the Agency, the issue was drawn by the Deputy of Ukraine, a member of the Agency Board, Pavlo Sushko, whose appeal initiated checking of the state of affairs of the clinical sanatorium "Arkadia".

In addition, according to a survey conducted in 2019, only 36 percent of border guards were satisfied with access to departmental health resorts.

The State Border Guard Service leadership acknowledged that the approach that had existed before was socially unfair and needed change. Therefore, in 2020 access to recreation at the border guard health resorts will be given differently.

Firstly, it will be open. The plan of distribution of vouchers to the Clinical sanatorium "Arkadia" is placed for public access on the departmental website in the category "Health".

Secondly – it will be provided evenly: visits will be planned in equal proportions for all months throughout the year. This will give an opportunity for those who really need to improve their health and not just relax in the summer at sea.

Thirdly - it will be fair: the vouchers are distributed between the bodies of the Border Guard Service not according to the principle: who is higher in position, gets more. For example, 75 vouchers are planned for the Administration of the State Border Guard Service in 2020, and for the Western and Eastern Regional Directorates - 237. Sanatorium Selection Commissions will provide vouchers according to the submitted applications or reports and according to medical evidence. Preference will be given to servicemen who have received combat wounds, to relatives of border guards who have died or disappeared, to persons with disabilities, combatants, veterans.

It is worth noting that even the most equitable distribution of vouchers today will not fully satisfy the request for sanatorium treatment of border guards and veterans of the service. There is only one health resort for 210 beds in the Agency - this is the Arcadia Clinic Sanatorium in Odesa. Its capacity is not enough for all those in need to help recover properly. And as a result of the war, such needs for the border guard agency increased. In 2019 alone, Arcadia provided recovery for more than half a thousand of military personnel and veterans involved in combat operations, 115 veterans of the military service, 73 disabled war veterans, nearly 170 members of veterans' families, disabled veterans, including 30 relatives of the killed border guards. At the same time, the agency's capabilities to provide recovery for the staff and veterans are much smaller than they were in the pre-war period. Three border guard health resorts remained in the temporarily occupied Crimea: Health and Recreation Center "Pishchane" with 700 beds, Clinical sanatorium "Prykordonnyk" in Yalta with 260 beds and Children's Health Center "Pryberezhny" in Saky with 350 beds.

"Arkadia" is a sanatorium in which the treatment profile is neurological, cardiac and therapeutic. About 4,000 people improve their health there every year. The plans are to expand the capacity of the sanatorium to 100 beds, due to the reconstruction of the rehabilitation building.

Also, by the decisions of the Government of 2016, two sanatoriums in Lviv region - Morshyn and Nemyriv - were transferred to the State Border Guard Service. Both are located in areas with outstanding recreational facilities, natural mineral waters, therapeutic muds. However, the state in which they were adopted by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine was unsatisfactory and, with the available funding they were not able to be put into operation yet.

At the same time, it should be noted that the provision of sanatoriums "Nemyriv" for 200 beds and "Morshyn" for 300 beds will significantly expand the opportunities for health recovery of border guards, as well as the range of deceases that can be better treated.

All people who have diseases of the musculoskeletal system, skin, nervous, cardiovascular systems and others will be able to recover in Nemyriv. The resort has the highest sulfur content in Europe and the best water quality for the effective treatment of a number of diseases.

Treatment and rehabilitation in Morshyn will make it possible to forget about illnesses of digestive organs, kidneys, urinary tract, metabolic disorders, diseases of hepatobiliary system. Morshyn mineral saline, peat mud, and ozokerite will help prevent cardiovascular and other diseases.

It should be emphasized that the health of border guards remains a priority for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.