Verkhnyaya Salda lays symbolic first stone for new medical complex

SVERDLOVSK REGION

 

On September 11, Verkhnyaya Salda held a symbolic ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a future medical complex that will combine children's and adult outpatient clinics. The project, funded by the Sverdlovsk Region Government and the VSMPO‑AVISMA Corporation, is one of the key elements of the development program for the town's 250th anniversary.

 

Earlier, at the Corporation's expense, the therapeutic department of the inpatient facility was torn down, with the surgical department's demolition scheduled for October. The repurposing of the maternity hospital building is under way – the surgical and therapeutic departments are already settled in. Bashkirgrazhdanproekt from Ufa is drawing up the design and cost estimates. Construction will start right after state expert review.

"Across the region, we are implementing programs to ensure access to medical care in all territories. Verkhnyaya Salda is no exception. In the town where titanium is produced, the major enterprise took the initiative, and today, together with VSMPO‑AVISMA, we are upgrading the town's healthcare system. By the town's 250th anniversary, the enterprise will build a modern complex, while the regional authorities will staff and equip it. "Addressing the staffing issue requires a twofold approach: building a new medical university in the region – we already have agreements on this with the Government of the Russian Federation – and providing housing for young professionals," Sverdlovsk Region Governor Denis Pasler said.

 

Systematic work kicked off in November 2024, when an organizing committee for the socio‑economic development of the Verkhnesaldinsky District was established under the chairmanship of the Regional Governor, ahead of the town's 250th anniversary. On the initiative of VSMPO‑AVISMA, healthcare modernization was included into the list of the 14 priority areas. The specific decisions were agreed upon on August 22, 2025, at a working meeting attended by Denis Pasler, Deputy Governor and Regional Health Minister Tatyana Savinova, Mikhail Shelkov, and VSMPO-AVISMA CEO Dmitry Trifonov. A bilateral agreement on healthcare development in the district was signed on September 10, and a year on, the project is in full swing.

"In order to establish proper medical conditions, a modern building, equipment, and medical specialists who choose to live in Verkhnyaya Salda are required. That is why we pay monthly supplements to emergency paramedics in the two towns, equip the departments, and are building a new complex. I strongly believe that business can help the authorities. Yes, healthcare is the state's responsibility, but if we are in a position to support such projects, we should certainly do so. The construction of the new medical complex is the result of a dialogue between the Corporation and the authorities. And I'm glad we're merging our resources for the sake of people's health," said VSMPO‑AVISMA shareholder and founder of the Empathy Charitable Foundation Mikhail Shelkov.

 

VSMPO‑AVISMA provides systematic support for healthcare in Verkhnyaya Salda. In recent years, intensive care monitors, ventilators, a mobile X-ray unit, and passenger vehicles have been purchased for the Central District Hospital, and the urology department has been equipped. Since October 1, 2024, the Empathy Charitable Foundation has been paying monthly bonuses to ambulance paramedics – currently 25 specialists in Verkhnyaya Salda and 20 in Nizhnyaya Salda.

"The Corporation has its own medical service, which meets the needs of almost 20,000 employees and veterans of the enterprise. However, the families of our workers are treated at the municipal hospital, and their children go to the municipal outpatient clinic – and we cannot say that this is not our responsibility. Design is in progress, construction will start right after state expert review, and we have a clear picture of what the buildings will look like – it's a modern, welcoming place that one would want to go for timely treatment," Dmitry Trifonov shared.

 

This is not a one‑time project for VSMPO‑AVISMA – it's a consistent commitment to long‑term investment. Big business shares with the state the responsibility for the quality of life in the towns where it operates. Even under high volatility in global markets and external sanctions pressure, the Corporation's Press Service told RusBusinessNews.

 

"Such facilities emerge where the authorities listen to the people, and business doesn't stand apart from the town it works in. This is what truly means saving the people of Russia – not in reports, but in construction, in modern equipment, and in doctors you can reach close to home. It is precisely this kind of synergy that produces results that every resident will be able to feel for themselves," said State Duma Deputy Sergey Bidonko.

 

Photo: VSMPO-AVISMA Corporation Press Service