By Patrick N. Mensah, Maryland County
The Pleebo Health Center in Electoral District#2, Maryland County Southeast Liberia is to shortly benefit from an emergency annex to enhance health service delivery there.
The project which is at an estimated cost of US$266,000 is in continuation of Partners In Health (PIH) Clinical Strategic Priorities to build a model platform focusing on high-quality service delivery in line with the Ministry of Health’s target.
Partners In Health Director for Clinical Services Dr. Sterman Toussaint told reporters during a recent tour of the project site on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, that when completed and formally turned over to the Government of Liberia, the facility will expand Pleebo’s capacity to provide health services in a wide range of areas, including hypertension, diabetes, hepatitis B, tuberculosis, HIV, maternal health and child health, besides emergency needs.
He explained the new emergency facility will include five beds for general admission patients, a trauma bay, an isolation room, utility rooms, storage areas, bathrooms, a reception space, an inpatient ward with eight beds, four for males and four for females, and an expanded out-patient consultation area, non-communicable disease clinic with three consultation rooms, and a waiting area and storage.
Additionally, the new facility will provide outpatient services, therapy for palliative care patients, and emergency care for children, people with acute conditions, and people with emergency surgical needs such as trauma care.
All of those services will benefit patients from more than 30 vulnerable communities in Maryland County.
“When completed, the new ER block will further enable Pleebo Health Center to have adequate space, equipment, and capabilities, such as ultrasounds and electrocardiograms to improve treatment tremendously”, Dr. Toussaint said.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]
He stressed that Partner In Health (PIH) is supporting the Ministry of Health to provide quality health services through infrastructure, staff capacity building, equipment, and medical supplies, improve transportation, mental health programs, and community awareness campaigns to ensure prevention and control of diseases.
He disclosed that a total of 26, 733 catchment population from Grand Kru, Rivergee, and neighboring Côte d’ Ivoire, according to data provided by the Pleebo Health Center Administrator Garrison Sayor, the modern Emergency annex will provide services to the general public.
The Pleebo health center has been challenged in terms of lack of an emergency structure which makes it difficult for patients to be attended to effectively due to lack of sufficient space, especially during the rainy season.
During the tour, Dr. Toussaint appreciated the Maryland County Health Team, local authority, and community members for their respective supports to PIH programs.
In response, the county authority hailed Partners In Health (PIH) for the level of progress made in the ongoing construction of a modern emergency annex at the Pleebo Health Center.
Pleebo Sodoken Statutory District Superintendent, Aloysius Williams noted that works done in the country by PIH can never be overly emphasized.
He described the initiative as being in fulfillment of the government’s Pro-poor agenda, noting that the people of his district have been worrying for such a facility to suit the quality of services needed at the only public health center in Pleebo.
Partners In Health (PIH) is a global health organization that is restoring social justice by bringing quality healthcare to the most vulnerable around the world.
It had broken grounds for the emergency annex in 2020. During the groundbreaking, Viola Karanja, deputy executive director for PIH Liberia, lauded citizens and local officials for their cooperation and promised to always work in the interest of Pleebo.
Madam Karanja said although the health center has been using a makeshift emergency ward to accommodate patients with immediate needs such as injuries from accidents, severe hypertension, and acute respiratory infections that require oxygen, amongst others, those patients also need safe, high-quality spaces to receive lifesaving stabilization before referral or surgery.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/lisee-donates-items-to-pleebo-health-center/
