Pediatric Partners Hospital Turn 12, Resolves to Revolutionising Children’s Health Care in Nigeria
Mary Nnah
Founder, Dr Ekuase Sanusi, Founder, Pediatric Partners Hospital, a centre committed to delivering quality and affordable healthcare to children in its community from newborns through adolescents and young adults, has said that her hospital is on its way to revolutionising healthcare in Nigeria for children.
Speaking during the 12th anniversary of the hospital recently in Lagos, Sanusi said, “The experience has been a phenomenon. We have made a lot of strides in the care of children and we are on our way to revolutionising health care in Nigeria for children. We are not what we want to be but we are not where we used to be and it’s exciting.”
Speaking further on how her hospital intends to revolutionise health care in Nigeria for children, she noted, “The way we have been doing it for the last 12 years is making sure that all our staff are trained in the basic Pediatric care; we explained to our staff about the importance of checking out the numbers – there is something about a child’s heart beats, blood pressure, temperature, respiratory rates when they come in. Those numbers don’t lie. They tell when a child is very sick. It is important for any facility that is taking care of children to know what a normal heartbeat, respiratory rate blood pressure and oxygen circulation of the child are. When these are abnormal. It means there is a problem you have to investigate the child. ”
The Pediatrician said further, “We have taught our nurses and doctors just the standard of medicine and how important it is to make sure that the patient experience is not painful. A child comes with a high fever and he/she is screaming, we take care of the fever first and that calms down the child, and then we get a good history examination, and do our lab tests if it is needed. Once you have a history and physical that is very good, your diagnosis is already made. You don’t necessarily have to do blood tests or anything. Based on what the parents are telling me and what the child looks like, I can tell you what is going on with the child.”
And then we treat a child with the best practices way of doing things, so if you see any of our doctors, it is the same standard you are going to get and of course, we have what is called practice guidelines where we follow rules that have been proven to show that this is what we give for a specific ailment, so that way, we are not jeopardising the care of the children.”
She said that another unique thing about the hospital is having an environment for healing so that when a patient comes in and he/she is very sick, they get put back quickly.
“We would see a patient who cannot breathe first before we see the patient who has a rash. In that way, we prioritise health care and we try to make the patient experience such that when they come in, their questions are answered and if we don’t have the answer to a particular patient’s question, we make sure that we do all that it takes or if we are not able to take care of that child, we would send them to a person who can take care of them. So basically, you don’t leave our office without the answer of what is going on with your child.”
She recalled that the main challenge when the centre started 12 years ago, was getting people to understand the concept of having a Pediatric practice that will only cater to children.
“There were already one or two practices in Lagos that take care of children but I think the coming from America mindset, the concept of having a Pediatric facility that took care of children from birth to age 21 and more because sometimes some of the patients are more than 21 but they don’t want to leave.
“We had challenges in that a lot of parents go everywhere else but when they come to us, they get the answers they were looking for. They thought we were expensive but it ended up being more expensive for them out there because they go get their child admitted for two weeks and when they are released the problem is still there and then they come here and within a day their children’s problems are solved. That’s what we have been doing in the last 12 years and when you go to a place where they know what they are doing, the difference is clear”, she proudly said.
A Heart Surgeon and husband of the founder of the hospital, Dr. Michael Sanusi, “It has been 12 wonderful and amazing years. Pediatric Partners Hospital is run by my wife and her team. Their strength is in their devotion to children, giving professional care of the highest quality with a heart of love and devotion. It is clear that this is not just about the proceeds that they get but they have genuine love for the children and care that the children get back on their feet as soon as they are here.”
Owned by American Trained Board Certified Pediatricians, the Pediatric Partners Hospital, a hospital and health care centre located at the heart of Victoria Island is helping parents build healthier futures for their children.
