Eugene
M. Holuka, M.D.
Diplomate of
Internal Medicine
University Physicians Group
Ukranian
2000 Recipient
Raised
on Manhattan’s Lower East Side, which still boasts a large population
whose families came from Eastern Europe, Dr. Holuka’s parents came to
the United States from Ukraine, although his mother is Russian descent.
Upon graduation from Hunter College, he studied for a year in
Krakow, Poland, before pursuing his medical studies at the Universidad del
Noreste in Mexico. After graduating in 1986, he served his internal
medicine residency at Booth Memorial Hospital in Queens.
His
marriage a few years later took him to Staten Island, a significant move
since he met and joined forces with Dr. Vincent Calamia, who at the time
was in the midst of establishing University Physicians Group (UPG).
In 1991, Dr. Holuka was one of the first physicians to join the
group practice, which today consists of 150 doctors and hundreds of other
personnel who serve Staten Island and Brooklyn.
Board certified in internal medicine, Dr. Holuka also serves the
Oxford health plan as medical director for Staten Island.
Dr.
Holuka has been involved in humanitarian efforts to help the people of
Ukraine, having already collected more than $12 million in medical
equipment, pharmaceutical and hospital supplies, EKG machines,
respirators, operating room equipment, incubators, and orthopedic
prostheses. It’s truly a
team effort, as he gathers the supplies and a Ukrainian-American veterans
group packs and ships the material.
Dr.
Holuka’s involvement in humanitarian assistance for Ukraine can be
traced to his uncle, the owner of a Manhattan butcher shop who had
contacts in the Ukrainian community.
When Ukraine gained its independence nearly a decade ago, the
country was virtually broke. Dr.
Holuka’s uncle donated a $25, 000 computer system to the Ukrainian
government to help it get on its feet.
When a Ukrainian diplomat fell ill in New York, Dr. Holuka’s
uncle told the man to see his nephew.
It didn’t take long for Dr. Holuka to become deeply involved in
collecting medical supplies for the poor nation.
A
few months ago when a Ukrainian ship was stranded in New York Harbor and
forced to dock in Staten Island, Dr. Holuka provided medical assistance
for the sailors and gathered medical supplies for the ship’s stores.
Dr. Holuka collects food and medical supplies for a Ukrainian
orphanage. One of the nurses
at UPG paid the highest tribute to Dr. Holuka.
After adopting two children living at the orphanage, she named one
of them Eugene, in honor of Dr. Holuka.
With ties to the Ukrainian government and medical community, Dr. Holuka had met with the President of Ukraine last April when the head of state stopped in New York before heading to Washington DC for the 50th Anniversary celebration of NATO. A passing conversation with the Ukrainian President about the work of The Forum’s Children Foundation has carved a special role at the Forum for Dr. Holuka. He has been a major force in arranging for hospitals to provide surgery for children who are in dire need of life saving medical intervention—not available in their native country.
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