First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo and Dr. Okoe Boye (third left) with invited guests at the book launch
First Lady, Mrs. Rebecca Akufo-Addo has urged Ghanaians to support the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH) to deliver on its mandate rather than paint a negative picture of the institution.
She said it was through such a move that the premier teaching hospital can live up to its expectation of being a center of excellence.
“Korle-Bu is our premier teaching hospital, where a lot of our specialists reside. Korle-Bu is a national asset. How it functions has a significant impact on our health sector. It is important that we all support Korle Bu to become a center of excellence,” she said.
Mrs. Akufo-Addo made these remarks when she joined captains of industry in Accra to launch the Book, “The Mother In The Monster Calming The Storm At The Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital: Leadership At A Tough Terrain” written by former Board Chairman of the hospital, Dr. Okoe Boye.
The book gives a detailed account of how the “monster” KBTH was carefully and systematically dissected, examined, and nurtured.
It further reveals the intentions that birthed the industrial harmony which the hospital has been enjoying for some time now and what it will take to nurture and sustain a serene working environment.
The First Lady described the author as a young man who showed grit and determination in addressing the challenges he met at Korle-Bu adding, “with the full cooperation of the Board, management, and staff of Korle-Bu, Okoe Boye’s tenure saw a period of a consultative, problem-solving approach.”
She said so much, had taken place during Dr. Okoe Boye’s tenure as Board Chairman of Korle-Bu which needed to be documented as both tangible and intangible institutional memory.
“Dr. Okoe Boye’s book will encourage others to see the enormous potential of Korle-Bu not just to Ghana, but to our sub-region and support our premier health institution,” she added.
The author in a few remarks said he learned more about the institutional organization, group dynamics, communication, stakeholder engagement, resource mobilization, and allocation, during his tenure at Korle Bu, than he had ever done in his life.
“On assuming office in July 2018, I made it my preoccupation to diagnose this ‘monster’ with a view of finding a lasting treatment, if not a cure, for bringing it under control,” Dr. Okoe Boye said, “All these will be found in the book.”
The first nine copies of the book sold at the launch generated about GH 150,000 to help support and reward the backline health staff whose contribution to service delivery often goes unrewarded.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri