The President of Georgia toured a newly-opened multi-profile hospital in Dmanisi within the scope of the hospital sector development program and spoke with one of the patients. Mikheil Saakashvili also visited the newborns and brought them presents. The Head of State also spoke with the medical personnel and recalled the time period when doctors were workless in a frozen hospital.
“There was nothing in Dmanisi. People lived without roads, in ruins, and lack of electricity. There was no water in Dmanisi, but now it has a 24 hour water supply. Aside from this, there was no natural gas. And now, there are only 2-3 villages left without gasification. Because of the lack of roads there was a problem travelling here from Tbilisi. That is why the Tbilisians did not know where Dmanisi was…I always thought about opening hospitals in small regions. In the past, places similar to this one did not have even one patient and there was an impression that people did not get sick, but in reality medical care was not accessible for them. Today, insurance is helping people in gaining access to hospitals. ” – noted Mikheil Saakashvili.
The new hospital has been functioning since December. The clinic has received 975 patients and 29 babies were born during this time period. 80 qualified specialists are serving the local residents.
The insurance company “IC Group” has built this clinic through an investment of over 2 million GEL. The hospital is equipped with ultramodern technology of leading brands.
Later today, the President of Georgia decorated the General Director of the Emergency Cardiology Center, a doctor of medical sciences – Gulnara Chapidze, with the Presidential Order of Excellence for her long and productive service in the cardiology sphere.
“Guliko Chapidze is first of all associated with hope and kindness. She extended lives of many people, helped them get back on their feet, and because of her, many people are having full lives. This was happening because Professor Chapidze was their doctor and these patients were brought exactly to her. Professor Chapidze began developing a huge school, a cardiology center, from scratch at a time when our country was collapsing on our heads. Everything was advancing in the world in the 90s, but there was a chance that we would stay in the past. At precisely this time, she adopted completely modern methods of medical care. That is why we relate opening hospitals to decorating stellar people, because all of this is not just an oasis in a remote place, in a desert, but a new development based on a vast Georgian medical tradition and a new medical stage, which will be based on the results and experience of the past. Madam Guliko is not only a part of our past, but an important part of our future as well” – stated the President of Georgia.
The Merited Doctor thanked Mikheil Saakashvili not only for the award, but because such modern clinics are being built across the entire country.
“I arrived here earlier than planned and I had a chance to walk around and interact with with people. A lot of people of various ages were gathering and I asked what was happening. They looked at me with astonishment and told me: We have a celebration, look what a hospital has been built here. They used the word “celebration” and this is truly a celebration. We have been hearing for a long time that a lot of hospitals are being opened. This is one thing, but it is completely different when you see it with your own eyes. Some said good things about opening these hospitals, some bad things; they also said that 15-20-25 bed hospitals should not exist, are not necessary and etc. I saw many things in a different way here today. Of course it is a huge success to have such a hospital in the region. Me personally, I would still enjoy working at such a hospital” – noted Guliko Chapidze.
Mikheil Saakashvili also addressed the population gathered at the hospital and spoke about the ongoing processes in the country. As he noted, it is overly important to build schools, hospitals, and other structures in the regions in order to implement the idea of equality, because every region and every person should be equally privileged in the country. According to him, the main thing that the people currently have is faith and the feeling of hope, which should turn out to be true.