Local workers renovate Sadr City hospital

Courtesy Photo | BAGHDAD -- An Iraqi worker overhauls the boilers at Ibn Al Baladi Hospital in Sadr City. The $19.3 million project to renovate the medical facility is about 50 percent complete and is projected to finish in late February, 2006. (U.S. Army photo)  

BAGHDAD, IRAQ

11.18.2005

Courtesy Story

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2nd Brigade Combat Team PAO

BAGHDAD --Along with numerous sewer, water, and electric projects, a hospital for women and children is being refurbished in Sadr City.

Since July 5, 2004, Parsons Delaware, Inc., has been working on Ibn Al Baladi Hospital (Arabic for "Son of My Town"), a facility in southern Sadr City primarily providing health care to women and children.

Patients previously suffered from unsanitary conditions and stifling temperatures due to lack of functioning environmental controls. Now, the temperature is cooling off thanks to new air handling systems, and infants and the elderly are less susceptible to the heat's effects.

The renovation of the hospital, divided in four different zones, is taking place in four phases. In order to prevent any lapse of health care availability, the hospital staff compressed the facility and patient living space into three-quarters the space they previously used. Meanwhile, Parsons started work in Zone 1, refurbishing the walls, floors, ceilings, plumbing, wiring, and ductwork. As the workers complete each zone, the staff moves patients and equipment into the completed areas, allowing Parsons to move to the next area.

The $19.3 million project currently stands at 52 percent complete and is scheduled to finish in late February, 2006.

"They've completed Zone 1, and are really cranking on Zones 3 and 4," said Jeremy Way, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project engineer.

In addition, the Iraqi Ministry of Health has planned to construct a new annex to the hospital to use as a blood laboratory. The contract includes provisions to purchase new medical equipment following the construction phase of the contract. Coalition Forces worked with the Ministry of Health to ensure the people of Sadr City would receive exactly the facility they need.

Although this project will provide improved health care to the people of Sadr City, it also has a side benefit. Parsons has employed nearly 220 people at a time, providing a stabilizing effect in the surrounding community.

"The differences [between the finished and unfinished portions of the hospital] are night and day," said Maj. Paul Ashcraft, a representative from 2nd Brigade Combat Team, which is responsible for the area. "They've taken a hospital that's been neglected for 30 years, and are turning it into a first-class facility."

The renovation of Ibn Al Baladi Hospital is part of an overall effort to improve health care facilities in Baghdad. Five outpatient clinics being built across Sadr City will put competent care within much easier reach.

• Date Taken: 11.18.2005
• Date Posted: 11.18.2005 13:01
• Story ID: 3782
• Location: BAGHDAD, IQ