The Greater Accra Regional Hospital, Ridge , hosted a medical delegation from Sanford Health for an extensive training on emergency and Basic Life
Support.
The Director-General of the Ghana Health Service, Dr. Samuel Kaba Akoriyea, in delivering a keynote address, started with personal recollections of his early professional journey at Ridge Hospital. Expanding on the broader systemic realities of emergency healthcare in Ghana, he noted that emergency departments frequently receive patients only when conditions have severely deteriorated into critical emergencies, underscoring that healthcare providers must remain unswervingly patient-centered.
He charged management and staff of Ridge Hospital to uphold the highest standards of healthcare delivery, emphasizing the hospital’s strategic role in shaping the performance of the Ghana Health Service.
“The entire country is looking at us. If something should come out of the Ghana Health Service, it has to come through here,” he stated, describing Ridge Hospital as the country’s leading referral facility and a key driver of excellence in healthcare delivery.
He urged the hospital to take the lead in capacity development by sharing expertise and supporting other health facilities to strengthen their service delivery. He also stressed the importance of excellent customer care, urging healthcare professionals to treat every patient with compassion, respect, and professionalism.
The Director-General further appealed to staff to attend to emergency cases with the highest level of urgency, emphasizing that timely intervention and a patient-centred approach are critical to saving lives and improving health outcomes.
Dr. Kaba recounted how his relationship with Sanford Health, which began 15 years ago, has blossomed into a longstanding partnership that continues to support the Ghana Health Service in various areas. He highlighted some of the partnership’s contributions, including the recent donation of medical shoes for health workers across the country. He seized the opportunity to express his profound appreciation to the Sanford Health team for their enduring partnership, commitment, and invaluable support towards strengthening healthcare delivery in Ghana. As part of recognizing excellence and dedication during the training the Director-General also handed over certificates to participants.
Travis Spier, Enterprise Director at the Center for Pre-hospital Care and Simulation for Sanford Health, led an intensive, hands-on training component that reinforced critical life-support mechanisms. Spier focused comprehensively on the protocols of cardiac arrest management, stressing that maintaining clear, concise communication and structured "pit crew" dynamics during high-stress resuscitation efforts are paramount to minimizing interruptions and maximizing patient survival rates. His detailed instructions guided local medical personnel through advanced techniques in neonatal and adult resuscitation, proper pulse checks, effective chest compressions, synchronized ventilation, airway management, and the judicious administration of intravenous fluids based on individual patient presentation.
Karoliina Slack, Vice President of Sanford World Clinic, officially presented a substantial donation of specialized medical bags that were distributed directly to the nurses. Mrs. Rita K. Akoto, Chief Nursing Officer and Head of Nursing and Midwifery at Ridge Hospital, formally accepted the donation on behalf of the hospital. The event concluded with renewed commitments from leadership and staff to institutionalize continuous training and deliver uncompromising care to every patient.