Founded in 1945 by American baptists, Eku Baptist Hospital blazed a trail in medicare in Nigeria. But when the missionaries left in the late 1980s, the hospital experienced a brutal decline. Just back from a visit to Eku, Delta State, Joe Agbro Jr., writes on how the Delta State Government is trying to restore the dignity of the hospital
Eku, a town in Ethiope-East Local Government Area of Delta State, is by any standard a rural community. But, the founding of a medical clinic there in 1945 by Mrs. Eleanor Katherine O’Haver Hower and her husband, Mr. Milford, both American Baptist missionaries, would ensure its prominent position on the map. Set on a large expanse of land with matured mango trees, its environs are naturally therapeutic. And its fame quickly spread in the Mid-West Region. With a better promise of restoring ill-health using orthodox medicine, patients from towns such as Ughelli, Warri, Agbor, Sapele, and Benin, patients flocked towards Eku Baptist Hospital. And, over the years, its reputation grew. For a lot of people in that region, Eku was ‘the hospital.’ Recalling memories of that era, the commissioner for higher education, Prof. Hope Eghagha, said, “if anybody was very ill, the question usually asked was ‘Has he been to Eku?”
Such was the sort of faith people had in the hospital. Needless to say the American missionaries did a great job of providing healthcare services which made Eku the Mecca of healthcare in the region. The American missionaries left the country in 1998 and handed over the hospital administration to the Nigerian Baptist Convention (NBC). It was also then that the fortunes of Eku Baptist Hospital started to change.
For starters, wanting to claim ownership, the community embroiled the NBC in a tussle that resulted in a court case. Initially, the American missionaries had leased the property in 1945 for 60 years. Hence, court case or not, in 2005, the hospital automatically reverted back to the Eku community. That was to signal the beginning of its woes as the Eku community leaders were not equipped to run a hospital. According to the chaplain of the hospital, Rev. Richard Obarorakpor, who was employed in 2000, when the NBC was forced to leave, the community took over affairs of the hospital. “A BOT (Board of Trustees) appointed by the community to run the place,” he said. “They were the ones in charge.”
It wouldn’t take that long for the community to realise running a functional hospital was not within its capacity. Due to an absence of regular maintenance, the old buildings and facilities inherited from the missionaries began to rot; infrastructures became decrepit with roofs leaking, cracks in buildings, and overgrown bushes everywhere. Funds were also a challenge as the hospital was not able to pay salaries regularly anymore. The doctors and other medical workers began to leave while only few patients thronged there. It seemed Eku Baptist Hospital was ready to die. It was at that point the community begged the Delta State government to take over.
Dr. Obukohwo Odunvbun, the current Medical Director of the hospital, did his houseman-ship at Eku Baptist Hospital in 1988. He described that period (1988) as “the golden era. Everything worked well,” he said. “But I visited here (Eku Baptist Hospital) out of curiosity four years ago (2009) because I heard that the place had fallen. You know, we regard here as an alma mater. So, I said, ‘let me see how bad things were.’ I literally shed tears because the roofs were leaking, the bed sheets were terrible. The infrastructure was decrepit. Things were caving in. Beds were falling apart, sometimes, in the whole ward, you find one or two patients on admission.”
The Delta State Commissioner of Health, Dr. Joseph Otumara, also recalled having to personally rush some accident victims to the hospital sometime in 2008. “Because of my position,” Dr. Otumara said, “I was able to go around the wards. There were no light bulbs in some of the wards, the place was looking very bad.”
Also, when the community pleaded to the state government to take over the running of the hospital, it fell on Otumara to champion the cause. And on November 2, 2009, community formally handed over the documents of the hospital to the Delta State governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan.
Eku Baptist Hospital became Eku Baptist Government Hospital. And Uduaghan, himself a medical doctor, spearheaded a revamping mode. By the time the Eku community appealed for help from the Delta State government, the hospital was like a ghost of its former self. The state government set about reviving it by employing more staff. It, however, retained the old ones. And Rev. Obarorakpor said, “Government even paid a backlog of salaries.” The workers had been owed salaries of over (six months.) And from just two doctors and a handful of workers in November 2009, the hospital now boasts a staff strength of 215, including four Consultants and 17 Resident Doctors. This meant more manpower to cater for a new surge of patients.
The long fence which borders the hospital and also a school of nursing which was also founded by the missionaries is newly painted. Probably out of nostalgia to preserve memories of a sweet past, an old sign; ‘We care but God heals,’ is visible in quaking paints on the walls, contrasting the shiny outlook of other parts. A walk along the aisle confirms the sign is indeed a memento. While the layout of the hospital remained largely unchanged, it has completely been refurbished. Currently, the hospital has a bed space of 160 which comprises a female ward, male ward, paediatrics ward, a maternity ward, different theatres, and different laboratories, and pharmacies.
The wards have modern hospital beds, shiny marble floors, while the walls are beautifully painted with cheery colours and designs. Each ward also has its own toilets and bathrooms. There is also a new integrated 20-bed capacity Accident and Emergency Ward; 10 each for males and females. The ward incorporates independent units like a laboratory, pharmacy, theatre, medical records office, and sleeping-in rooms for doctors, nurses, and other healthcare practitioners are there. There is also an integrated ultra-modern dental unit. “We are expecting a CT Scan,” Dr. Odunvbun said.
On Monday, June 10, 2013, morning when I visited the place, patients lined up, waiting for consultation. And pacing gently on the corridor of a ward was Kingsley, a middle-aged man from Oria, a nearby town. He said he had brought his aged sister for treatment. “We have been treating her but she keeps falling sick every time,” he said. Though, he didn’t say the actual nature of her illness, he was optimistic of the treatment she would get. “I know we would get a permanent solution here.”
Odunvbun tells me the response from patients has been tremendous and if anything, the health workers contend daily with a large inflow of patients. “Even with the number of doctors now,” he said, “there is an outcry of being over-burdened.”
The number of outpatients has been progressing. In 2009, registered patients totalled 8,920, in 2010, the number was 10,442, in 2011, the number was 17,219, in 2012, the number was 19,120, while as at May 2013, total number of registered patients had reached 8,932.
In the maternity ward, squealing children, visiting friends and relatives and mothers created a din while hospital staff went about their work. “We now have a theatre here in the maternity ward,” Dr. Odunvbun, who also doubles as the only Gynaecologist at the hospital, said. “There is a delivery room with five beds. For pregnant women wanting a private ward, the fee is N1, 000 per night.”
The Delta State government offers free pre-natal and post maternal care as well as free treatment for children under five year old. “The treatments (for pregnant women),” Dr. Odunvbun said, “includes drugs, caesarean operations, vaginal deliveries, ultrasound scans, and laboratory studies.” And since the take-over, live births recorded at the hospital have increased; 251 in 2009, 284 in 2010, 857 in 2011, 994 in 2012 and 556 as at the end of May 2013. 251, 284, 857, 994, 556 (May 2013).
The hospital currently enjoys a five-year accreditation from the National Postgraduate Medical College, in the Faculty of Family Medicine. And common childhood diseases such as measles, malaria, diarrhoea, ear infection, and surgical problems such as hernia are treated at the hospital. However, for complicated cases like kidney problems and eye problems, they are referred to the Delta State University Teaching Hospital, Ogharra. But Dr. Odunvbun thinks it is only a matter of time before such cases can be resolved at Eku. “His Excellency has approved the employment of a physician, a general surgeon, and a paediatrician,” he said. “Those slots are waiting to be filled.
”It (The hospital) is really work-in-progress,” said Dr. Odunvbun. His present office is one of the proposed private wards. “It is serving as admin for now,” he says, “pending the completion of the main building. “A lot is still coming on,” he said, pointing to a building. “That theatre is going to be changed. It is going be have a modern theatre. We’re going to have a new morgue, the refrigeration system, not the embalmment. We’ve had to close down the mortuary so as to have the contractors commence work.”
As work is being rounded off in some areas like the Administration Block, and Car Park, one can see an edifice rising up. The dream is to make the hospital a referral centre and as one walks around the hospital, a conspicuous sign titled ‘Our vision’ reads “To restore the dignity of Eku Baptist Hospital’ can be seen, a subtle reminder of a glorious past which the Delta State government only wants to build on. No doubt, the missionary aspect is one. And when the government took over, they left the chaplaincy department.
According to Rev. Obarorakpor, the mission of the American Baptists was preaching, teaching, and healing, hence, the chaplaincy, school of nursing, and the clinic. “This is what distinguishes this hospital from other hospitals,” he said, looking solemn. “There is still room to minister the gospel. That is why I am still here as the chaplain.”
