American Hospital For Women, Children Takes Off In Abuja.

    NINE years after it was conceived, the American Specialist Hospital for Women and Children has finally taken off in Abuja.

  Minister of Health, Onyebuchi Chukwu was optimistic that the project would contribute to checking the influx of Nigerian to hospitals abroad for treatment.

One of the promoters of the project and Chief Executive Officer of GE, Mr. Jeff Immelt, said at the unveilling of models for America Hospital Limited in Abuja that the projects, which was first muted in the year 2005, would be implemented in four phases.

  He noted that the American Specialist Hospital for Women and Children, was the first to take off. The others consisting of the American Medical Diagnostics Imaging and Medical Centre; the American Specialist Hospital other (otherwise known as the centre of excellence for internal medicine, cardiology, cancer, stroke, diabetes and hybertension management; the American University of Medical Sciences were at various stages of work.

  He noted that the focus was on the operations of projects 1 and 2, while laying a solid foundation for the subsequent expansion of the other projects of the hospital.

  He said:" American Hospital Limited is presently developing new specialist hospital in Abuja. The goal of the American hospital is to build and effectively operate within Nigeria, state of the art medical facilities, staffed by well-trained and highly qualified personnel who are committed to the delivery of the highest quality healthcare with professionalism, compassion and hospitality comparable with the most advanced healthcare centresin the world.

  "The overall objective of the project is to be foremost inh ensuring that Nigerains in particular and sub-Saharan Africans in general, achieve and maintain high quality public health and longevity that is comparable with the best in the world. Also, these state of art hospitals will also serve to promote medical tourism in Nigeria from sub-Saharan Africa in particular, European and American general".

  Chief promoter of project, Dr. Ifeanyo Obiakor stressed that the target groups for the hospital were Nigerians who desire high quality healthcare, some of whom now travel overseas to Europe, USA, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Thailand, among others.

  His words:" Its training program for Nigerian medical doctors, residents, medical students and allied health professionals is designed to ensure that they are trained to provide American standard of high quality healthcare, and return to their communities to practice and promote a higher standard of healthcare.

  "While focusing on traditional curative approach to medicine, extra emphasis will be laid on preventive medicine, which will lead the nation in the improvement of national indices, and economic growth. 

By  Emeka Anuforo