“UMANA was born from necessity,” Dr. Lopatynsky shared. “After the war, many Ukrainian physicians who found refuge in the U.S. or Canada had no homes to return to-and no easy path to practice medicine again. They needed each other.”

With unfamiliar medical systems, a new language, and cultural barriers to overcome, these physicians leaned on one another for professional guidance, social connection, and practical help navigating licensure and employment. UMANA was their response-a community built for survival, but also for renewal.

That foundation continues today. Although UMANA no longer tracks birthplace, its membership has steadily shifted toward U.S.-born Ukrainian Americans, along with a handful of members connected through marriage or shared interest. Its diversity spans the full range of medical specialties, from primary care and internal medicine to dermatology, ophthalmology, and radiology.