Tappita, Nimba County – As Liberia’s ailing healthcare system continues to attract public outcry, the Jackson F. Doe Hospital in Tappita, Nimba County continues to stand out, thanks to the man behind the wheel, its Chief Executive Officer Dr. Victor Zon Kaizer.
By Selma Lomax [email protected]
In an interview with FrontPageAfrica’s Selma Lomax after a two-day extensive tour of the facility, he highlighted the profound impact of his strategic plan to metamorphose the hospital into a leading provider of quality care solutions not only in Liberia but West Africa.
Dr. Kaizer has over 15 years of solid experience in healthcare administration and clinical sociology combined with his applied knowledge in therapeutics. He holds a Doctor of Healthcare Administration (DHA) from the Virginia University of Lynchburg in the United States.
He also holds a Master’s in Clinical Sociology from Marshall University with a concentration in Human Services. Dr. Kaizer also obtained his Bachelor’s in Criminal Justice from Marshall University. He holds another Master’s in organizational leadership from the Virginia University of Lynchburg.
Dr. Kaizer also holds a post-graduate certificate from the Pennsylvania University in Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT).
From July 2018 to January 2019, Dr. Kaizer served as chief administrator of the Jackson F. Doe Hospital before he was replaced by former Liberian President George Weah “because of his long-standing relationship with President Joseph Boakai”. He has also served as the lead clinician of Elwyn in Philadelphia. Across different private health and psychosocial facilities, Dr. Kaizer has served as a therapist and clinician.
Having emerged CEO of the hospital, Dr. Kaizer said has rolled up his sleeves, rubbed minds with his team and together they have strategized on lasting solutions to revamp the facility in a bid to meet international best practice, and make the facility the best in Liberia. While fired up to map out yet another future plans, Dr. Kaizer and his team said they are ready to work their fingers to bones for the hospital.
Excerpt of the exclusive interview
FRONTPAGEAFRICA: “I read your strategic plans on things you would do as the CEO for the hospital. Are you happy with what you have achieved so far since you were appointed by President Boakai?”
DR. KAIZER: “I think the word is not “happy” but “proud.” We are very proud of our work here. We think we are one of the top performing hospitals, not just in health in this country. We are very confident about that. People have come; regulatory bodies send people here and they keep asking ‘What do you give your staff? ‘Why are they working so hard?”.
“If you come here by 7.30am or 8am, everywhere is buzzing; staff are at work. So, we are very proud of that. Some of these jobs are not about buildings. Some say they judge themselves by how many buildings they have put up, or whether the buildings are functional. We judge ourselves by the functionality of the processes of our system and the joy of our workers.”
“When we came on board, we deliberated and said, in the healthcare system, the focus is on the patients, they bring us to work. We have told ourselves that looking after that patient for a health care worker is very demanding. So, the people looking after them must first of all be happy.”
“We focused on crafting a vision where we have common goals. What brings us together? We want to make the Jackson F. Doe hospital the leading provider of quality care solutions in the country. We took time going around, when you talk to anybody they’ll tell you quality health solutions. So, we’re very proud of what we’ve done and that in itself makes me high and keeps me going.”
FRONTPAGEAFRICA: “At a time many institutions are crying for funds to develop their facilities, you seem to be thriving. How do you manage this?”
DR. KAIZER: “It’s not only you asking about funding. “CEO, where are you seeing the money for these projects you continue to undertake at the hospital?” I don’t think I know myself but we have a plan. When we came on board, we sat down for months and came up with a plan. We decided to focus on six areas – patient satisfaction, manpower training and development, staff satisfaction, research and technological innovation, inward and lastly funding.”
“If you go to the plan, we wrote how we intend to make money to fund all these beautiful things but beside that, what I want to say is, it is all about efficiency of utilization of resources. I will give you an example. We have a very vibrant work department with very young, brilliant engineers. Majority of the work we do in this hospital – the structural works, unlike before when they were all on contracts – are done by our engineers.”
“So, we are utilizing the little we have more. Then of course, we are also getting more because there is more patronage. The bottom line is more efficient utilization of resources and we are focused more on in-house utilization of our manpower. That is why we are able to do so many things.”
FRONTPAGEAFRICA: “For most hospitals, constant power supply is a challenge. It is even more crucial in a place like Tappita, where the Jackson F. Hospital is. How do you cope? How much do you spend on electricity monthly?”
DR. KAIZER: “It is a big problem but we run a functional system. Since I came on board I don’t think we have ever had a day without power in the Jackson F. Doe Hospital. It is a lot of work and money; you can’t run a hospital without power. If the light goes off for one hour in your hospital, somebody dies. It is as stark as that. If you look at it from that point of view, any hospital without power is dangerous.”
“When we came on board, we focused on one basic thing: power. The doctors and nurses need to work. If you can’t provide power, you are not doing well. Any hospital that cannot provide power should not be thinking of any other big thing. So, we had to invest heavily on generators and the Jungle Energy Power.”
FRONTPAGEAFRICA: “What has been your relationship with your doctors that we don’t hear of strikes at the Jackson F. Doe Hospital these days. What is the secret?”
DR. KAIZER: “Resident doctors see themselves automatically as opposition to management across the country. That is the way they are constituted so if you don’t oppose management, you are not doing your work. But that has not been our story. These doctors assigned at the Jackson F. Doe Hospital are very reasonable people from my experience and personally they are like my brothers.”
