Doc to Dock Completes Maternal Health Wing at Kumasi South Regional Hospital in Ghana
A second Doc to Dock trip to Kumasi South Regional Hospital in Ghana brings the completion of the new fully furnished and completely operational Maternal Health wing. Local women may now seek and receive quality health care throughout and following pregnancies at a facility ready and able to provide medical care to the women and infants who need it the most.
New York, NY (Vocus) November 26, 2008
In May of 2008, Doc to Dock visited the Kumasi South Regional Hospital in order to assess the needs for a new and much needed maternal health wing. The hospital through local funding had completed construction on the physical structure but had no supplies to convert it into an operational unit. The old facility consisted of two delivery beds in a 10 foot by 8 foot room as well as 5 recovery beds cramped together in a small adjacent room. This facility had been overwhelmed with up to 15 deliveries a day before Doc to Dock’s May 2008 visit.
However, a new healthcare policy instituted by the government of Ghana in mid-2008 has provided free health care for all pregnant women in public health care facilities. As a result of this policy change, Kumasi South Regional Hospital has seen a 50 percent increase in the number of deliveries further taxing their limited facilities. After the arrival of Doc to Dock’s 40-foot shipping container the new maternity wing at Kumasi South Regional Hospital was inaugurated on November 15, 2008 at a ceremony attended by a delegation from Doc to Dock, including co-chairs of the board Bruce Charash and Sandra Tytel.
With the delivery of patient beds, infant warmers, an ultrasound machine, cribs, birthing beds, operating tables, an anesthesia machine and hundreds of boxes of supplies, the hospital has become the only hospital in Greater Kumasi with a free standing maternal and infant health building. This hospital now has the capacity to efficiently and effectively serve the population of women seeking medical care.
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