Let’s do it together’, UBTH’S first female CMD, Prof Ize-Iyamu rallies support of workers as she unveils UBTH CARES roadmap

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 As she came out into the warm embrace of excited workers at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, UBTH, Ugbowo, Benin-City, Edo State, on Monday, the hospitals first female medical director, (CMD) Prof. Idia Ize-Iyamu, solicited the cooperation of everyone to take the institution to the next level.

It was an overwhelming excitement right from the hospital’s main gate into the premises as the workers trooped out to welcome their new CMD.

Addressing the enthusiastic crowd who lined the road flaunting banners with various solidarity messages, Ize-Iyamu promised to make her stay very pleasant and improve on the positive status of the institution.

She said being the first female to head the UBTH is a plus to all women and good omen to the people saying “once you have a woman in the kitchen, you are sure there will be food on the table.

“Men, women, youths and children, I stand here to represent all of you.  This hospital belongs to all of us and by the special grace of God, we will take it to the next level. We will do things that would make the State proud as well as make our president proud because our President, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu has graciously given us a female CMD.

“I appeal to you to cooperate with me because if we are united; we will do it together. UBTH will be great, not only in Edo State but in the South -South in Nigeria, in Africa and in the world at large. However, I cannot do it alone. So, I ask that all of you will stand by me, stand behind me, stand beside me and work with me. Let’s do it together”.

Earlier in the hospital’s boardroom where she formally took over, Ize-Iyamu, who made history as the first woman to head the hospital in the 52 years of its establishment, described her appointment as the “dawn of new possibilities”.

Pledging to anchor her leadership on compassion, innovation, and excellence in healthcare delivery, the professor of Dentistry and Orthodontics said in her inaugural address, “As the first female to serve as CMD of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital, I stand not as an exception, but as an example of what is possible when merit is sought and when opportunity meets with preparedness”.

Unveiling an acronym, she said would guide her tenure, the new CMD stated that “My vision is clear that UBTH CARES”, with the C standing for Care, A for Advancement, R for Revitalisation, E for Employee welfare, and S for Sustainability.

She said her leadership would prioritise patient dignity, staff welfare, infrastructure renewal, digitisation of records, and partnerships with government, academia, and the private sector.

According to Prof. Ize-Iyamu, “UBTH is more than a hospital. It is a sanctuary of healing, a fountain of learning, a citadel of research, and above all, a beacon of hope for millions who look to us for care”.

While acknowledging her predecessors for building the foundation she intended to strengthen, she also expressed gratitude to President Bola Tinubu for her appointment as well as the Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Prof. Muhammad Ali Pate, for recommending her.

Handing over the baton of leadership of the hospital to her successor, Professor Darlington Obaseki whose second tenure ended Sunday August 17, said it was a rare privilege which is not common in the institution for the outgoing CMD to hand over to a substantive successor.

The immediate past CMD said, “This morning as I came to the office, I looked at the pictures. Between 1970 and now, this is the first proper transition we are doing. Today I am handing over to a substantive CMD. That is historic and symbolic”.

Acknowledging his successor as a “history maker” with her string of firsts, Prof. Obaseki noted that “You are the first female CMD in the history of UBTH. You are the first dentist to be CMD in the history of UBTH. These, I believe, are the first of many firsts you will achieve as you begin your tenure as the head of this hospital.”

He was particularly pleased that out of the 12 tertiary health  institutions in the country which CMD’s tenures had ended, only the UBTH was having a substantive CMD.

Commending the warm reception given to Ize-Iyamu by the UBTH community, Prof. Obaseki enjoined them to rally round her.