The Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, (ABUAD) Multi-System Hospital says it is set for the December edition of its Free Open-Heart Surgery for willing Nigerians.
This is contained in a statement on Sunday by the Director, Corporate Affairs of ABUAD, Mr.Tunde Olofintila, and made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti.
According to him, the exercise is powered by the Healthy Heart Foundation, HHF, Afe Babalola University Multi-System Hospital and the United States-based VOOM Foundation.
The free surgeries, he said, are scheduled to take place in the ultra-modern 400-bed, ABUAD Multi-system Hospital.
He stated that the December edition of the free surgeries are coming on the heels of the high success rate recorded during the September Mission, when Clinicians from HHF, VOOM Foundation and ABUAD performed free open-heart surgeries on 14 indigent patients between the ages 18 and 73 years across the country.
Olofintila said the Medical mission was initiated to cater for the health needs of indigent Nigerian patients, in need of Cardiovascular healthcare which is quite expensive and not within the means of most Nigerians.
He said this initiative, by founder of the University and Hospital, increased accessibility to these life-saving therapies and increased awareness in the community, and beyond, on prevention and treatment of heart diseases.
Olofintila said VOOM Foundation is a US-based team of Surgeons and Clinicians, providing Clinical expertise, free surgeries and major surgical consumables such as Oxygenators and Valves among others, for these surgeries.
He said on its part, HHF is set up to provide care (surgery) to indigent patients and training to willing Clinicians, saying ABUAD Multi-system Hospital was established by Babalola, to provide affordable world-class medicare, quality Medical Education, and put an end to outward medical tourism, through which Nigerians fluff away millions of Dollars on medical bills outside the country.
Olofintila added that ABUAD Multi-system Hospital was chosen as the location for the December edition, because of its sophisticated equipment such as the World-class Cardiac Unit, six Modular Theatres, Toshiba Infinix-cf-i/mono-plane Cathlab machine, Intra Aortic balloon Pump, Maquet Vario twin-HL20 Heart-Lung Machine and Maquet Servo Air ventilator.
“Such sophisticated equipment also include: Servo-I adult ventilator with compressor, Non-invasive ventilation software, Humidifier, a modern Dialysis Centre, consisting of 16 state-of-the-art Dialysis Machines and a modern Blood Bank and Transfusion Service Centre, among others.
“It will be recalled that Dr. Yemi Johnson, the Chief Medical Director of First Cardiologist, Lagos, had earlier commended the quantum of sophisticated medical equipment in the ABUAD Hospital.
”The statement quoted Johnson as saying, during his visit, that; “This is my first visit to Ekiti and the ABUAD Hospital was my first stop.
“This is really impressive. I can say without any equivocation that this hospital has more high-techmedical equipment than all the hospitals in Lagos put together. This is most certainly the best equipped hospital in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“The immediate past Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, corroborated this when he once said: “This Hospital will offer us what we hitherto believed cannot happen in this country.
It will also improve the poor Health Indicators in Nigeria,” Olofintila said.
