AN NASIRIYAH — In an atmosphere of mutual respect, trust and cooperation, the U.S. Department of State, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Provincial Reconstruction and Development Council (PRDC), and the Iraq Ministry of Health (MoH) signed a partnering agreement March 28 to build Al Musayib Maternity Hospital (MMH) in Iraq’s Babil Province.

“The partnering agreement is based on an essential interest in the successful and timely completion of a fully operational 50-bed maternity and pediatric hospital for the MoH,” said Robin Parks, project manager for GRS. “The main goal of the project is to reinforce support to the residents of Musayib and to the Babil Governorate. The community will get an aesthetically pleasing hospital where women can learn the importance of a safe and healthy pregnancy, and a childbirth program.”

Parks explained that one goal of the agreement is to build the hospital within the scope of work, on time and within budget, safely and securely. Another important aspect of the agreement is to ensure quality design, workmanship, materials and product; and to maintain professional working relationship between executive leaders and individual partner representatives on the work site.

 “The project will create employment opportunities for the local community, establish strong leadership by providing continuous presence at the job site, and maintain strong communications through active committees and meetings,” she said. “The responsibilities of GRS will include providing contract administration for the construction of the hospital building and associated facilities and amenities listed in the scope of work. That includes the built-in components of the structures.”

USACE also will provide two facility maintenance engineers from the local community to work with the contractor from the onset of construction through two months after hospital turnover to MoH, Parks said.

“This effort is our attempt to assure there are trained, capable employees that are knowledgeable enough about the facility and its equipment to take proper care of it and perform preventative maintenance after (USACE) responsibilities end,” Parks said.

Greg Fillers, GRS chief of programs and project management, said “The Iraq MoH’s responsibility will be providing everything necessary to operate the hospital in the functional manner of which it was intended. This includes the timely provision of trained professional staff, medicines, medical equipment and supplies, furniture, communication equipment and all other necessary items not listed in the contract. The MoH has agreed to continue the employment of the same two facility maintenance engineers employed by the Corps after its responsibility ends.”

“The Babil PRDC intends the hospital to be a signature legacy project of what the U.S. government has provided for the Babil Province, and it is being placed in the mixed Sunni/ Shia area of northern Babil,” he said.

This location demonstrates the fairness of the Iraqi and U.S. governments, according to Fillers. Al Musayib City has the greatest need in the Province, and estimates that 5,000 births and at least 25,000 child-care visits per year could be provided by the facility. He added that the hospital will have the basic modern built-in systems, such as intercom, fire alarms and Internet, plus a new type of medical gas system for operating rooms, patient rooms and the nursery.

 “The project will be implemented adjacent to the Ibn Saif Al Jenabi Hospital in Musayib City, which will be demolished the moment the new hospital is opened,” said Fillers. “The MoH approved the construction of the hospital in Musayaib in phases. All of the staff, equipment and supplies for the Ibn Saif Al Jenabi hospital will be transferred to the new hospital. Because this is intended to be a symbolic project, an options page has been included to allow for use of the full $7.5 million of available funding for the Babil Province.”