The Eastern Regional Hospital is making significant strides in reducing preterm mortality.
A a result, the Hospital has held graduation ceremony to celebrate children delivered prematurely and successfully managed at the facility over the years and are hale and hearty.
The event formed part of activities marking World Prematurity Day, celebrated annually to highlight the challenges and achievements associated with preterm births.
This year’s is “Giving every baby a strong start for a hopeful future.”
The highlight of the ceremony was the graduation of quadruplets – two boys and two girls delivered at the hospital in October 2023 at weights between 1.4kg and 1.9kg. Their parents, farmers from Owirakese near Asamankese in West Akyem Municipality were filled with joy seeing their once -fragile babies grow into healthy toddlers.
The event also featured a touching donation of graduation gowns by a mother whose twins were among the graduates.
For many years, the Eastern Regional Hospital grappled with high premature mortality rates. In 2022, the facility recorded 138 deaths, a slight reduction from 118 in 2021, with most cases being referrals from surrounding districts.
However, the situation has improved significantly following the commissioning of a modern GH¢7 million one-storey Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) constructed in 2023 by Nana Owiredu Wadie I, founder of the Kabaka Foundation.
The state-of-the-art NICU has transformed neonatal care in the region, drastically reducing preterm mortality.
The facility has specialized sub-units: the Yaa Boatemma NICU, Kangaroo Mother Care Excellence Unit, and the Daasebre Kwaku Boateng III Mother and Baby Centre, providing a total of 70 beds.
The facility also has additional 30-bed mothers’ hostel supports caregivers during the management of their newborns. The NICU complex also includes a children’s ward, OPD, consulting rooms, high and low dependency wards, an isolation ward, a stable patient ward, and a standard OPD , emergency unit and ambulance bay.
Addressing the gathering, Dr. (Med) Arko Akoto-Ampaw, Medical Director of the Eastern Regional Hospital,praised the significant impact of the NICU project on the quality of neonatal care delivered.
He commended the dedication of hospital staff and the cooperation of parents throughout the treatment.
Nana Owiredu Wadie I, founder of Kabaka Foundation who continue to support the Neonatal Internsive Care Unit every year, is impressed with the impact of the facility saving lives of premature babies.
He said the foundation will continue to invest in critical areas in the health sector to help Ghana achieve the Universal Health Coverage and meet the Sustainable Development Goal.
