The Superintendent of Grand Bassa County, Janjay Baikpeh, has expressed satisfaction over the development taking place at the ArcelorMittal Liberia hospital in Buchanan.
Speaking Thursday at the end of a tour of the hospital’s facilities, Superintendent Baikpeh said the level of work being done at the hospital will improve the quality of health services, which he described as hope for more and better solutions for the company’s workforce and residents of Grand Bassa.
ArcelorMittal Liberia has embarked on a major renovation of its Buchanan Hospital to increase the capacity and improve on the quality of services it provides. The improvement drive includes a massive renovation of its Operation theatre, increasing the number of bed space as well as its staff capacity, and investment in advanced medical technologies.
Superintendent Baikpeh hailed ArcelorMittal Liberia for the on-going effort and encouraged the management to continue doing more to impact the lives of Liberians, especially those residing in the operational areas of the company.
“As a county leadership, we are interested in the hospital being opened to the public. So, we thought it wise that we stop by to see the level of work being done, and we saw great improvements, for which we want to appreciate ArcelorMittal,” he said.
The superintendent promised to brief the county’s legislative caucus about the improvements taking place, and to further engage the company, through dialogue, to open the facilities up to the public to buttress the government’s hospital there. “You cannot have this done while we still have people struggling out there to find ways to get healthcare,” the superintendent stated.
ArcelorMittal Liberia’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Garfee Williams, thanked Superintendent Baikpeh for the visit to the hospital, and assured that with the on-going improvements there will be an increased in capacity for additional services.
Dr. Williams said while there has been no announcement officially declaring the hospital opened to the public, people who have sought medical care there have not been turned away because they are not employees of ArcelorMittal Liberia.
“We have no reason not to open up to the public. I think the biggest issue will be around ensuring that our quantifications are proper because, as it is, our procurement is based on staff and their dependents. So, if it’s opened to the public and the access and utilization go up, we will require more drugs for the additional services,” Dr. Williams explained.
