TAPPITA, Nimba – As part of her nationwide assessment tour, Health Minister Louise M. Kpoto has paid an official visit to the Jackson F. Doe Memorial Regional Referral Hospital in Tappita.
Minister Kpoto’s visit on July 10 was part of her 21-day nationwide tour of the health sector. The trip was meant to get crucial insights and gather firsthand information on the health sector and its challenges.
At Jackson F. Doe Hospital, the minister appreciated the workforce for their services and promised to promote the interest of all, including patients seeking treatment at facilities across the country.
She said there are ongoing consultations to increase the salaries of health workers, as well as to construct housing units for them. “There are lots and lots of things we are doing behind the doors,” she said.
Deputy health minister for administration, Martha Morris, also emphasized President Joseph Boakai’s interest in building a functional, effective, and available health system, which is why the delegation needed to leave Monrovia to physically interact with health workers, patients, and stakeholders in the sector.
Minister Morris said the current administration is working to ensure that patients who visit public health facilities can receive the required attention, services, and medication, unlike in the past when patients would only receive prescriptions.
She praised the chief executive officer of Jackson F. Doe Hospital, Dr. Victor Kaizer, for the level of work done over the short period he has been assigned at the hospital. She expressed faith in his ability to transform the hospital.
Morris also called on all Liberians to take advantage of the hospital, informing them that the facility offers services that cannot be found at other hospitals in the country.
For his part, Kaizer praised the health minister and her team for the visit and for choosing to make Jackson F. Doe Hospital the first stop on the tour.
The 100-bedroom Jackson F. Doe Memorial Regional Referral Hospital is the country’s second-largest referral hospital, constructed through a US$10 million grant from the Chinese Government.
Opened on February 12, 2011, the hospital began attracting patients from across the country and in the Mano River Region because it had some of the best medical equipment that no other hospital at the time had.
Featured photo by Jerry T. Myers
