AMMAN -- Minister of Health Abdul Latif Wreikat and US Ambassador Stuart E. Jones on Monday inaugurated the newly renovated obstetric and neonatal departments and the outpatient clinic at Al Hussein Hospital.
The renovation work, supported by USAID, was completed in October 2011, with a total estimated cost of $1.8 million, according to a US embassy statement.
USAID provided $500,000 worth of medical equipment and furnishings, including neonatal incubators and resuscitators, delivery and operating tables, and vital sign monitors, the statement added.
As part of the USAID-funded Health Systems Strengthening II (HSS II) Project, which carried out the renovations, USAID also introduced a perinatal information system, which provides Ministry of Health hospitals and outpatient clinics with an up-to-date database of expectant mothers' medical histories, to help avoid unnecessary or repetitive tests and improve service providers' readiness to deal with clinical cases, especially women with high-risk pregnancies, the embassy said.
USAID's five-year, $73.5 million HSS II Project was launched in September 2009 in coordination with the Ministry of Health and the Royal Medical Services to enhance the quality and responsiveness of the public healthcare system in Jordan. The project will continue working with the Ministry of Health to complete obstetric, neonatal and emergency room department renovations in another 12 hospitals by the end of 2012.
© Jordan Times 2012
