Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, a renowned Ghanaian Cardiothoracic Surgeon, is Chief Executive Officer of Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, Director of the National Cardiothoracic Centre, and President of the Ghana Heart Foundation. In the midst of apparent insurmountable challenges, Kwabena envisioned and established the National Cardiothoracic Centre of Excellence in Ghana, West Africa in the 1980s and early 1990s. Patterning himself after the inspiring lives of Albert Einstein, Martin Luther, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, and Ephraim Amu, a renowned Ghanaian Musician, his life demonstrates that exceptional achievements can be made from seemingly insignificant beginnings.
Prior to Kwabena’s birth, his father Kofi Frimpong met an untimely demise from chest injuries sustained in a road traffic accident. Eventually, his parental loss was to influence Kwabena’s decision to become a cardiac surgeon.
Upon Kwabena’s birth, he received the name of his father and grandfather, Kofi Boateng. Raised in a small Ghanaian village with a newly widowed young mother responsible for her infant’s well being, Kwabena describes his mother as a kind-hearted parent and hardworking farmer, always ensuring that her little family as well as any guests always had enough food to eat.
He received his early education from teachers with no formal training. A very bright student, Kwabena progressed rapidly through Anglican middle and secondary schools, completing his preliminary education two years ahead of his classmates. Chosen to do a one-year pre-science course at Legon University, Kwabena soon entered the University of Ghana Medical School in 1975. Graduating as a doctor and with a full scholarship in hand, he left for Hanover, Germany to specialize 2.5 years later. His aptitude for cardiothoracic surgery ensured every opportunity to shine as a leading cardiothoracic surgeon in Europe and indeed, the rest of the world; However, Kwabena had a dream. . . a dream to restore acute cardiac care to his people of Ghana.
The decision to become a Ghanaian open-heart surgeon had been a very difficult one to make due to the fact that there was much resistance to cardiothoracic surgery being conducted in his homeland. Popular opinion among medical specialists at that time was that cardiac surgery was not a priority nor essential for this sub-Saharan region. History revealed that an established cardiac service, initiated in the 1960’s by pioneer Professor Charles Easmon, first Dean of the University of Ghana Medical School at Korle-Bu, could not be sustained long-term and had ultimately been aborted. However, Kwabena had developed a passion for his specialty and combined with love for his people, was determined to follow his conviction that such services were essential and he could restore and sustain a first-class open-heart surgery facility in Ghana.
Kwabena believes: “You have to have a dream, but you cannot be dreaming all the time: it has to concretize one day.” His first priority involved collecting equipment essential for the establishment of the centre. Similarly, he recognized that a Centre is only as excellent as its human resources. A nucleus of seven Ghanaian technicians and nurses were subsequently trained in Germany for one year. Returning home with his qualified team in 1985, Kwabena secured funding over the next decade.
Today, 15 years later, the Cardiothoracic Centre of Excellence is a prime example of what can be accomplished when an individual with vision and trust in God, determination and a willingness to sacrifice, both personally and financially, perseveres against all odds.
Services comparable to those of advanced medical institutions attract continental patients that have had to rely on costly services provided abroad. Patients are received from within the country, the region of West Africa and internationally, including Ethiopia, Cameroon, and Tanzania. The Centre expertly manages cardiac and respiratory disorders, including congenital and degenerative heart disease, cancer of the esophagus, diseases of the lungs, and traumatic conditions of the thoracic wall and cavity.
Asked what is the success rate at the Centre, Kwabena replies:
"Well, it is as good as any other Centre in the world. You see, heart surgery is like an airline. You may not have the money to purchase 200 aircraft, but if you have only one or two, there is a minimum level of safety and comfort, which you cannot compromise with; so when you take off, you can land safely. That is how the heart is. Because the heart is delicate, you need a lot of equipment to diagnose, to operate and to take care of it. And therefore the success rate is as good as anywhere else in the world, and that is what we are very proud of. So it is not different from the U.S. or Canada.
He continues:
“And we also know our limitations. Whenever there is something we cannot do, we always refer such cases to Centers where they can be managed; because we do not claim to be able to do everything in heart surgery. Because of the nature of the heart there are certain diseases for which we do not have the equipment; in fact we do not want to start now because we do not have the personnel to do certain things. So there are certain cases where we have to refer those involved to the US or to Europe.”
A major institution certified by the West Africa College of Surgeons for specialist training in cardiac surgery, cardioanesthetics, and cardiology; graduates include two resident Ghanaian cardiac surgeons and five West African international cardiac surgeons as well as cardio thoracic nurses and technicians.
Operational sustainability, both in terms of financial and human resources, requires prudent management. Understandably, cost for full cardiothoracic services is high. Kwabena’s administrative leadership has ensured that financial expenditures and reimbursements are covered through a variety of resources including government support as well as payment of services by patients and their families. For Ghanaians that require financial assistance, this is recovered in part from funds raised through the Ghana Heart Foundation (receiving contributions from many sectors of Ghanaian society), with patients paying on average US $2,500. Internationals pay the full cost of treatment. To keep costs to a minimum, the center continues to benefit from contributions in the form of essential cardiac equipment and supplies.
Deficits in expert staff are at crisis levels in Ghana health services and a plan by Kwabena to provide cardiac staff with plots of land for housing before or by the time they retire effectively promotes their retention. Care and attention to his staff members quality of life serves to encourage career satisfaction and dependability.
Kwabena served as Head of Department of Surgery at the University of Ghana Medical School, College of Health Sciences, prior to his appointment as Chief Executive of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital in 2002. As CEO, the establishment of the Korle-Bu Neuroscience Centre of Excellence will be carried out under Professor Frimpong-Boateng’s supervision. When asked about his expectations, he replies:
“Actually, I expect it to be better: better infrastructure, better equipment than the Cardiothoracic Centre, and I have no doubt in my mind about that. . . And we will support it as much as we can. My worry is the human capital. I think we are not yet there: and that is where perhaps, the Cardio Center is stronger. But I know that with the training program that has already started: with nurses, surgeons going to Canada for training for a period, they will catch up. And I also hope that the Ghanaian counterpart will be dedicated, humble, and have the fear of God in them . . . That is the way I see it. I know that it will be successful if we are willing to work hard from here.”
Kwabena continues that besides the land, moral support, strength, running errands, talking and discussing issues with those who matter, soliciting for help, helping to set up a Foundation to raise funds for the Centre, integrating it into the Ghanaian system: the Korle-Bu National Postgraduate Institute and the West African College of Surgeons, and so on, are areas where they can all help to establish the Center.
Finally, asked what words of encouragement he has for the pioneers of this neuroscience project, Kwabena responds:
" I want to thank our Canadian Colleagues because it is amazing that they will spend their time doing all that they are doing: going round, looking for money, coming down to enjoy our mosquitoes, etc. I want to thank them especially those who believe in God. With Him on our side we are victorious. If He has given us the commission to set up this Centre, then it will really happen. If only we shall remain faithful, then once He has promised He will do it; and when He does it, then we have actually won".
Father of five, two in the medical profession, his wife Agnes has faithfully partnered alongside him in his pursuit of excellence, both in practice and in leadership. “She is very supportive and prayerful and I am sure without her, things would have been very tough.”
Profile based on an interview conducted November 2004 at KBTH.
Many thanks to Mr. Samuel Ampen-Asare, Political and Trade Assistant, Canadian High Commission, Accra, Ghana, for interviewing Prof. Frimpong Boateng and providing the transcripts of this interview for publication.
Author - Marjorie Ratel