By Nna Anulumadu
The Chief Executive Officer ( CEO) Immaculate Heart Hospital and Maternity Umudioka Rev Fr Linus Uchenna Ezedinachi on Tuesday eulogized the Archbishop of Onitsha cum proprietor of the said hospital His Grace Most Rev Valerian Okeke for transforming and equipping Immaculate Heart Hospital and Maternity Umudioka.
The CEO while pouring the accolades, recalled that the said hospital was in a bad state before the Archbishop took up the responsibility of reviving, transforming and equipping it, which can now favourably compete with any other good hospital in Nigeria, disclosing that the services the hospital is rendering now in the area of health care delivery is topnotch, courtesy of the good hearted Archbishop.
He disclosed that in recent times, the hospital has recorded great innovations both in the area of equipments and personnel.
” We have upgraded by having more state-of-the -art equipment, more departments and units such as orthopedic clinic, ENT and Eye Clinic , Child welfare clinic, Accident and Emergency department, radiology department, automated laboratory services, digital x-ray, color Doppler ultrasound and ECG. We have also equipped the hospital with premature baby incubators, ventilators, defibrillators, anaesthetic machine, echocardiography and endoscopy machine etc. These have impacted positively on the patients.
Other services we are offering include antenatal and postnatal care, general medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, family medicine, general surgery, counselling, immunisation, blood banking, life ambulance etc.
As we appreciate our dynamic Archbishop for his great support, we also thank Dr Linus Offiah and MEPHIDA (Medical Physicists in Diaspora for Africa) for donating some of these equipments. The new equipments here is a game changer in our hospital services. Due to epileptic supply of electricity and high cost of diesel, we have installed solar powered energy through the usual magnanimity of the Archbishop. In other words, the hospital enjoys constant power.
Despite the challenges and hardship the country is facing now, our hospital is still growing in leaps and bounds. Our main concern here is patient satisfaction and improved health care.
One of the challenges we have is inability of some patients to pay hospital bills due to the economic crunch the country is into. However, we give glory to God for sustaining us and granting us his favours.
I want to thank the members of the staff starting with the Matron, Rev Sr Regia Maria Obinna, the consultants, medical officers, radiographers, nurses, laboratory scientists, pharmacy staff, bills staff, security down to the cleaners for their dedication to duty. Thus, patients satisfaction is guaranteed in our hospital,”
Fr Ezedinachi also described the hospital as one of the most affordable in the South East yet rendering quality services to patients, adding that such is an evidence that the hospital is fulfilling the mission statement of Onitsha Archdiocesan hospitals which is “sharing in the healing ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ through provision of holistic health care services that are qualitative, accessible, affordable which affirms the sanctity of human life and respect for human dignity.”
“To this end, we are actually giving back to the people when compared with high cost of accessing health care in hospitals situated in big cities.
The poor ones are considered and given discount after treatment as a way of charity to them. We also thank our dear Archbishop and men of goodwill who use to offset hospital bills of indigent patients once in a while.
Anambra state Health insurance Agency ( ASHIA) is also helpful to many patients that registered with it, because they get best of treatment in our hospital and pay little while the state government offset the rest of the bills. The poorest of the poor now access medical care here via ASHIA, ” he revealed.
The Chief Executive Officer further disclosed that without the massive support and encouragement of the Archbishop, the hospital wouldn’t have attained enviable height today.
“When I was posted here, the hospital was in a deplorable state. The Archbishop swung into action and started building new structures and renovated the existing ones. He made this hospital what it is today. Even some donors picked interest here through his initiatives.
Now the hospital compound is looking beautiful and everything is well ordered. The Archbishop is a goal getter and a game changer.
The Archbishop is passionate about what he believes in. He believes that whatever is worth doing is worth doing well. If he gives you assignment, he equally gives you the freedom to use your initiative and he will continue to encourage you to excel. Our Chief Shepherd is a man of vision. He is a kind of leader our country needed and I am urging our leaders to copy his leadership style . Being a Hospital dedicated to Our mother Mary, we continue to wax stronger through her intercession.
It is worthy of note that our great hospital has gone international because foreign expatriate medical personnel render services in our hospital occasionally, treating patients for free.
We thank Dr. Reka Fodor, her team and her foundation, Afréka International Humanitarian Foundation for consulting with the hospital every quarterly and for her free medical outreach. Hundreds of patients have been treated for free through her humanitarian organization .
We also thank our donors from Germany -MEPHIDA (Medical Physicists in Diaspora for Africa) for supporting us and for donating C-arm X-ray machine, ventilators, baby incubators, echocardiography and endoscopy. We express our gratitude to these leaders of MEPHIDA, the Chairman, Dr. Ndimofor Chofor, Mr. Chukwudi Okonkwo, the head of the donation-Project and the Head of the donating clinic Mr. Halsinger. We collaborate with our foreign partners on regular basis and we are getting results through telemedicine. “
Fr Ezedinachi further appreciated Late Fr Patrick Omuta( former health coordinator Onitsha Archdiocesan hospitals), Rev Fr Dr Basil Ekwunife ( current health coordinator Onitsha Archdiocesan hospitals)Fr Peter Anene, Fr Izunna Okonkwo, Fr Afam Ojukwu, Fr Fabian Moedu for assisting him in moving the hospital to the next level.
Immaculate Heart Hospital and Maternity Umudioka he asserted has come to stay, and will not relent in offering quality health services to the public which is the desire of our ebullient Archbishop.
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