The Ghanaian Association of Tampa Bay (GATB) in Florida, in the United States of America (USA), has donated assorted medical kits from Hillsborough County through the City of Tampa, Florida, worth Thirty-Five Thousand Dollars ($35,000.00) to the Richard Novati Catholic Hospital (RNCH) at Sogakope in the South Tongu District Hospital of the Volta Region.
The gesture is to help the hospital fully operationalize its operations after it was heavily afflicted by the recent Akosombo and Kpong dams’ spillage.
The latest donation from these Ghanaians in the diaspora is their widow’s mite towards the ongoing collective efforts by all stakeholders to get the hospital back on its feet after its closure for six (6) weeks due to the recent spillage of the Akosombo and Kpong dams which caused havoc to several facilities at the hospital and its environs.
More than eighty (80) hospital staff were affected following the inundation of the staff quarters by the floods. Even though the mortuary itself was not flooded, the entire compound was hit resulting in the evacuation of more than 2 two hundred fifty (250) bodies to nearby facilities including the South Tongu District Hospital at Sogakope, the Sacred Heart Hospital (SHH) at Weme-Abor in the Keta Municipality, the St. Anthony’s Hospital (SAH) at Dzodze in Ketu North as well as the St. Anne’s Health Polyclinic at Tagadzi in the North Tongu District.
President of the GATB in Florida, USA, Mr. Kwamena Sankah, led a two-member delegation not only to interact with the management of the hospital but also to hand over the kits to the hospital at a brief ceremony. He was accompanied by a friend of GATB in Ghana, Mr. Michael Dedey.
The items included several boxes of theatre gowns, first aid kits, face covering, bed sheets, shields, and gowns.
The Deputy Administrator of the Hospital, Ms. Ivy Emefa Damalie used the occasion to brief the delegation on the disaster situation and how the hospital and staff have been hit by the spillage. Present at the meeting was the Medical Director of the hospital, Dr. Aaron Nii Tettey Oku, Nurse Manager, Ms. Helen Tettegah, Internal Auditor, Godswill T. Adzoe, Accountant, Alfred Sefogah as well as the Human Resource Manager (HRM), Nelson K. Awudi.
She described the disaster as shocking and worrying since it affected the hospital’s entire operations resulting in revenue losses to the facility. Ms. Damalie was however grateful to all Ghanaians, corporate Ghana, individuals, and organizations for their immense support and encouragement in these trying times.
Presenting the items, Mr. Sankah said the hospital had been carefully chosen for the donation because of its flood disaster situation.
According to him, members of the Association who are Ghanaians by birth, descent, association, and friends of Ghana, living in and around the Tampa Bay area of Florida, USA have been touched by the disaster that afflicted services and facilities of the hospital hence the decision to assist in their small way.
He was hopeful that the items would go a long way to support the hospital’s efforts at providing quality healthcare services to the clients in the catchment area. He also hoped the staff would continue being motivated to give their best to the patients.
The Medical Director of the Hospital, Dr. Aaron Nii Tettey Oku, was grateful to the Association for the gesture, saying the support would go a long way to improve the hospital’s operations, particularly having resumed recently from its six-week break due to the flood situation.
The GATB is a not-for-profit organization focused on Ghanaian youth educational development, membership support, and cultural activities. GATB promotes the spirit of friendship among members, respecting one another and encouraging members to be resolute as they aspire to achieve their dreams.
