Prof. Univ. Dr. Diana CIMPOEȘU, Head Physician of UPU-SMURD Iași, at FERM 2025: “Emergency medicine knows no borders – we save lives beyond maps and systems”

REGIONAL ECONOMIC FORUM MOLDOVA 2025

19th Edition – Vatra Dornei, July 9–13, 2025

Thematic Panel:

Healthcare and Medical Services in the Moldova Region

Speaker:

Prof. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu – Chief Physician, UPU-SMURD, “Sf. Spiridon” County Emergency Hospital, Iași

Topic of intervention:
“Regional ER – redistributing pressure and reorganizing emergency services”

Panel 6 – Healthcare and Medical Services, held within the framework of the Regional Economic Forum Moldova 2025, hosted in Vatra Dornei on July 9, brought together healthcare leaders from Romania and the Republic of Moldova for a comprehensive debate on the present and future of regional health services. The central theme was emergency medicine – a field where every minute can mean the difference between life and death, and coordination between institutions, resources, and countries becomes essential.

A valuable point of view during the panel was shared by Prof. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu, Chief of UPU-SMURD at the “Sf. Spiridon” County Emergency Hospital in Iași, a key figure in emergency medicine in the Moldova region. Alongside her spoke Dr. Ramona Guraliuc (Director, UPU Botoșani), Prof. Dr. Mihail Ciocanu (Deputy Medical Director, Institute of Emergency Medicine, Chișinău), and Roman Boca (Director, Dorna Medical).

Diana Cimpoeșu: “The helicopter doesn’t cost the patient – but it does have a real cost and a clear medical rationale”

In a firm and well-documented intervention, Prof. Cimpoeșu clearly outlined the realities on the ground in the regional emergency system. She explained that UPU-SMURD’s work relies on a complex coordination network.

“Coordination is done through special integrated centers working with the hospital, ambulance service, STS, police, and gendarmerie. The helicopter doesn’t cost the patient, but it does have a real cost – and it must be used according to medical criteria, not social status“

She addressed the common misconception that helicopters can be requested “on demand” or for non-critical cases.

“There are patients who call and say the doctor won’t request a helicopter, or the hospital doesn’t want to pay. But the decision is based solely on medical criteria. There is no ‘important person’, only cases that meet legal and medical standards.”

Prof. Cimpoeșu highlighted the interinstitutional nature of the SMURD system: helicopters and logistics come from the Ministry of Internal Affairs, while medical staffing and funding are provided by the Ministry of Health and the Health Insurance House.

This collaboration, though effective, requires shared discipline in resource usage.

“We are simultaneously doctors, coordinators, risk managers, and communicators. We must make quick decisions, sometimes under pressure, but always based on clear protocols.”

Air Medical Transport: Between Speed and Decision

A central point of her speech was the analysis of air interventions, with concrete data on their efficiency. According to Prof. Cimpoeșu:

• 56% of missions are secondary transfers between hospitals;

• 42% of cases involve acute coronary syndromes requiring rapid intervention;

• Helicopters are also used in extreme cases: 90-year-old patients with heart attacks or 20-year-olds with the same diagnosis.

“Response time is critical – the patient must reach an interventional cardiology center in under 120 minutes. Thrombolysis must not be delayed.”

Prof. Cimpoeșu also gave concrete examples: patients saved from isolated villages using telemedicine, remote ECG transmission, and immediate team activation.

“We saved an 81-year-old woman with a heart attack, 180 km away, just because the team made the right decision quickly. Communication is essential.”

She also highlighted new resources – such as Black Hawk helicopters, capable of transporting four patients at once, and SMURD medical planes, especially useful in bad weather.

Regional Collaborations: Suceava, Botoșani, Chișinău

Support from colleagues soon followed. Dr. Ramona Guraliuc, Director of UPU Botoșani, highlighted Prof. Cimpoeșu’s regional leadership.

“Professor Cimpoeșu is the driving force behind emergency medicine in the northeast region. She keeps us connected, and coordination is vital. For us residents who trained in Iași, she’s a role model.”

In turn, Prof. Dr. Mihail Ciocanu, Deputy Director at the Institute of Emergency Medicine in Chișinău, praised the Romanian emergency system:

“We carry out between 20 and 28 missions a year with Romania’s support. Only in critical cases. I was impressed by your myocardial infarction protocols – I didn’t know your system was so well developed.”

He announced the development of a regional thrombolysis system for strokes in Moldova, with 11 regional centers and two centers of excellence in Chișinău, expressing openness to tighter collaboration.

Prof. Cimpoeșu encouraged expanding partnerships and pointed out that Romania already has an active thrombolysis network in almost all counties.

“Thrombectomy is successfully performed even in Suceava – where we had a major first. Medical team education and public awareness are key.”

Roman Boca: “The private sector contributes to national health – we want equal policies”

In a pragmatic and energetic speech, Roman Boca, Director of Dorna Medical and panel moderator, stressed the role of the private sector in delivering medical services.

“I want the private sector to be included in public health policies. We provide 50% of the medical services in Romania, but EU co-financing is much more difficult for us compared to public hospitals.”

Boca also warned about financial imbalances.

“If you owe money to the state, your accounts are blocked the next day. If the state owes you, no one rushes to pay you.”

With over 7,300 doctors having left the country in recent years, he pleaded for true integration of the private sector into health strategies.

“We don’t want advantages – we want equal access to funds, less bureaucracy, and recognition of our work.”

–

Conclusion: A System That Saves Through Collaboration

The healthcare panel at FERM 2025 provided a realistic and deeply human image of the medical system in the Moldova Region. It was a call for collaboration – between hospitals, regions, states, and between public and private sectors. From helicopters in remote areas to rapid decisions in heart attacks or strokes, each intervention reflected a system that, despite pressure, functions through involvement, solidarity, and innovation.

“Health is a team effort. If we don’t work together, we lose time, we lose lives,” concluded Prof. Dr. Diana Cimpoeșu.