It is a common practice in Liberia that top government officials and those who can afford to seek medical attention outside of the country because the government has not done enough to improve the country’s health delivery system.
To assuage this state of affairs, the National Social Security and Welfare Corporation (NASSCORP) has fulfilled its vision conceived a little over a year ago when last Friday it dedicated the multi-million dollar Jahmale Medical Solutions Diagnostic Center, located behind NASSCORP House which hosts the Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) at ELWA Junction.
The state-of-art facility will provide much needed high-level laboratory and imaging diagnosis to thousands of citizens. The facility comprises a three-story imaging/laboratory building and adjacent four-story clinic/residence building.
NASSCORP’s Director General, Dewitt von Ballmoos, at the official dedication said the facility will save the country huge amount of money spent on foreign travels for medical purposes.
The facility will further enable technology and specialized skills transfer to local Liberian medical technicians thereby contributing to capacity building as well as attracting Liberian medical professionals to return home from the Diaspora.
“This center will contribute to the achievement of one of the key development goals the administration of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf ardently worked towards,” Von Ballmoos added.
Since he assumed the leadership of NASSCORP, the Executive Director said several important initiatives have claimed the corporation’s attention, captivated their imagination and challenged their determination to make NASSCORP one of the most progressive, efficient, viable and responsive in the nation.
“I dream of a day when all working Liberians would be part of the social security system, including those who have served in the public sector and are entitled to a reasonable standard of living at retirement,” he said.
The imaging equipment for the Jahmale facility includes Toshiba Lighting Aquiline Detector; Row Ultra Helical CT scan; Hitachi Aperto Lucent Prime Open MRI; Canon/DelftDI Triathlon Dr. X-Ray machine and planned clarity 2D Digital Mammography (Mammogram).
Others include; Hitachi Arrieta V60ultra Sound Machine; Mortara ELA 280 Electrocardiography Machine and ROGAA Delft online XS PACS Data Storage facility.
The facility also has a wide range of laboratory equipment that includes Clinical Chemistry, Hematology and Immunoassay analyzers, Microbiology and hematology binocular microscopes and Heratherm advance incubator.
The facility will also have its own ‘Waste Disposer’ known as ‘Medical Waste Incinerator’ as well as other molecular biology and pharmaceutical equipment and supplies.
Other equipment available include laboratory freezers and chillers; pure urine microbiology chemistry analyzer; water purification system; Heraeus megafund 8 centrifuges; clinical routers, among others.
