The Chief Medical Director of Caring Habitat, Lagos, Dr. Olaolu Odemuyiwa, has called on the Federal Government to establish comprehensive rehabilitation hospitals in at least each of the geo-political zones of the country.
Odemuyiwa said there were no rehabilitation centres that could serve as transition points for people that have been managed for acute diseases and injuries before moving back to the community.
The physician noted that establishing rehabilitation hospitals was crucial in patients’ recovery journey, stressing that with such facilities, more people could be nurtured back to productive independent lives after chronic illness.
Odemuyiwa, who has many years of experience in global medical practice, spoke during the official commissioning of the Caring Habitat Skilled Nursing and Rehabilitation Centre, held recently in Lagos.
The CMD stated that the hospital began operations on February 11, 2024, and provides care for patients with chronic diseases, heart attack, stroke, wounds, dementia, and respiratory illnesses, among other health issues.
After 30 years of clinical practice in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, Odemuyiwa said he returned to Nigeria to establish the facility to improve patients’ outcomes and the nation’s health sector performance.
According to him, Caring Habitat is the first post-hospital care facility in Nigeria for patients who are “too sick to go home but too well to remain in the hospital.”
Odemuyiwa said, “The facility is a halfway house, a bridge between an acute center (hospital) and a home.
“Our mission is to transition individuals from dependent to independent living in the shortest possible time.”
The physician affirmed that the 40-room en-suite, world-class equipped rehabilitation facility located in Lekki would help free hospital beds to admit more patients in critical health conditions while Caring Habitat takes over to ensure the patient returns to full recovery and returns to an independent life.
“Our services include physical rehabilitation for stroke, catastrophic illness, post-operative recovery, frailty, debility, and arthritis.
“We also manage chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, chronic pain, and dementia, among other services,” Odemuyiwa said.
He also called on the state governors to establish more rehabilitation hospitals within their states so that more people could be nurtured back to productive independent lives after chronic illness.
In his remarks, Secretary to Ogun State Government and Special Guest of Honour at the event, Tokunbo Talabi, said Caring Habitat came at a time when Nigerians were yearning for better health care services.
He said the partnership between the government and the private sector in health would ensure that Nigeria had a healthy and productive population that would drive the economy to prosperity.
Commending the CMD for giving back to Nigeria, Director-General of Nigeria Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, urged Nigerians in the Diaspora to emulate the good gesture of Odemuyiwa and return home to help build Nigeria not only in the health sector but all other sectors that could help the country achieve inclusive growth and economic prosperity.
Special Adviser to Lagos State Governor on Health, Kemi Ogunyemi, said that Lagos State was collaborating with private-sector healthcare facilities to reduce the burden of patient care on government hospitals, which she said could cater to only 30 percent of patients in the state.
“The rest 60 percent patronise private hospitals, while 10 percent have other means of caring for their health,” Ogunyemi said.
She commended the management and staff of Caring Habitat, affirming that the facility represents a significant stride towards bridging the gap in healthcare infrastructure and expertise not only in Lagos State but the country at large.
SOURCE PUNCH NEWS
