Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Francis Kateh, has disclosed that there is no need for Liberians and visitors to stress to get quality healthcare, as the Emirates Hospital in Bopolu, Gbarpolu County, is now ready to serve the public.
Dr. Kateh, in an interview with Daily Observer stated that the hospital is now fully capacitated to handle over fourteen surgical operations daily. The hospital, he said, has all it takes to cater to the health needs of Liberians as well as those of neighboring countries.
He also disclosed that the hospital has at least five specialized Doctors, including an American general surgeon and an acclaimed fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
According to Kateh, as part of the ministry’s capacity-building strategy at the Hospital, the government of Liberia has recruited over 237 specialized and professional Nurses to aid the surgeons at the Emirates Hospital.
Meanwhile, upon the formal opening on Friday, July 14, 2023, at least 14 surgeries were conducted, and a Cesarean Section was also done on a first-time mother who had a girl child.
Dr. Kateh: “The doctors are mixed: a general Surgeon, an internist, and other generalists; however, services will be augmented based on need.” When questioned about the sustainability plans for the hospital, Kateh said this was an issue that is being critically looked at by the relevant administrator and that “this will be addressed.”
The 100-bed hospital is part of phase one of approximately ten hospital projects to be executed by the Government of Liberia. These projects are being undertaken through a bilateral partnership with the Government of the United Arab Emirates across the fifteenth political subdivision of Liberia.
The Emirates Hospital, which is worth $20 million in United States dollars, is seated on 52,000 square feet of land space in Bopolu City. With the recent pronouncement by the government of Liberia through the ministry, citizens in that part of the country have thousands of reasons to smile.
The Liberian Chief Medical Officer also boosted the Emirates Hospital infrastructure, which is now fully equipped with state-of-the-art surgical equipment, including four Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds, a rain-integrated water system, a 400 KVA Solar system aided by two standby 400 KVA generators, and an executive suite for high-profile patients.
Kateh further stated that the hospital is equipped with all the relevant departments like any modern hospital around the world; he named the Urgent Care Department, Diagnostic Department, Operation Theater, Mother and Child Department, Intensive Care Department, Internal Medicine Department, and Pulmonology Department, as well as a Source of Solar energy in every corner of the hospital.
The hospital will now enable residents of the remote region of Gbarpolu County and its surrounding counties, including Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Lofa, as well as neighboring countries Sierra Leone and Guinea, to gain access to health care.
It has a capacity of 125 beds and covers an area of 80,000 square meters with modern facilities. It also has operating rooms, a modern laboratory, and various specialized departments.
It is also powered by a solar energy system and offers its medical services and treatments to residents of Gbarpolu, and the surrounding areas can also benefit from the hospital’s medical services, including Sierra Leoneans located near the Liberian border.
However, history tells us that it has been more than 200 years since the Great Legend of King Saoi-Boso, a devout Islamic warrior, aided the settlement of ‘Free American Slave’ to establish a country now known as ‘the Republic of Liberia. that some.
Certainly, his remains lay in Bopulu City, in Gbarpulu County, with similes since President George Weah dedicated the Emirates Hospital in Bopolu City, Gbarpolu County, in Western Liberia, an initiative funded by the Government of the United Arab Emirates.
