CHIEF MEDICAL DIRECTOR, NOBLE HOSPITAL AND FERTILITY CENTRE RIVERS STATE – DR. CASMIR EZEASOR
- CASMIR EZEASOR’S STEADFASTNESS RADIATES PROFESSIONALISM ON MEDICAL OPERATIONS
The sole test of a Medical Doctor conduct should be his ability to perform the Professionalism which are entrusted to him. Anything else is entirely immaterial.
Making Noble Hospital And Fertility Centre thick at its peak is the Chief Medical Director Dr. Casmir Ezeasor whose antecedent in various medical formations can stand the test of time, as he has brought his astute leadership mien to bear at his hospital turning it a hub of professionalism in medical operations. Since his advent as the Founder/Chief Medical Director, Noble Hospital And Fertility Centre had continued to witnessed beehive of activities with series of spectacular achievements put up by gallant nurses and other medical professionals of different units. During the ending of August 2023, The Forward News Media pay a courtesy visit to Noble Hospital And Fertility Centre in Port Harcourt branch where we had a press briefing to evaluate his professional performance since the existence of Noble Hospital And Fertility Centre. His bonding with Medicals is akin to the umbilical relationship between a child and the mother right from the womb and last all through a lifetime. His antecedents and achievements as Chief Medical Director speaks volumes. He is a perfect example of Professional symbolism, the paragon of idealism, the soul of humanity, the heart of warrior, and a perfect Igbo-man. Since the existence of Noble Hospital and Fertility Centre as The Chief Medical Director, the Rivers State and Other States where he has branches has witnessed tremendous positive change especially in the lives of couples who has been married for years without any child and where able to receive the blessings of children through the work of God and Service to mankind ( IVF).
Dr. Casmir Ezeasor is someone who appreciates his purpose in life and still understands the components of that purpose. He is one man who has stood out among the few who had more than a fleeting nation of his sojourn on earth. He is a rare breed who viewed life solely from the perspective of his God, and knew that life’s purpose can only be fulfilled when self-will is surrounded to Almighty God. A very supportive, encouraging and inspiring man who always sets his mind on whatever he does passionately and quietly. He is a loving, kind-hearted man and this shows in his dealings with all that come across him. One peculiarity of His Eminence, Dr. Casmir Ezeasor is that he operates with synergy in his relationship with not only his people but also people who comes around him. Dr. Casmir Ezeasor’s sterling leadership is a perfect blend of western modernism. He is happily married and has lovely children .He is a peacemaker; in fact, he is a modern Icon by extension, and also a philosopher.
We hold him in high esteem because we believe in terms of thought processes, vision that naturally he is the person who will direct and help navigate through the challenges that may come his way. He is the custodian of Medical Doctor .More significantly he ensures peace, harmony, unity and stability. He is one that has carved a niche for himself, easily the most vibrant and that has been unquestionable in most of his actions and the directives he proclaims. It has also been clearly demonstrated in the positive reforms that he has carried out .It has also found expression in the peace, unity and harmony that exist among couples. Folklore, acknowledge and applaud heroes, so for us it is a beginning of a new dawn. “The ideals of uncommon patriotism, unassailable piety, sterling professional leadership qualities which you epitomize, are worthy traits which will continue to inspire us in our national transformation efforts.
Hear him:
Can You Tell Us More About Who You Are And The Services Of The Noble Hospital And Fertility Centre?
I am Dr. Casmir Ezeasor, I am a fellow of West African College of Surgeons and equally a Fellow of medical college of Obstetrics and Gynecology Nigeria. I hail from Anambra state in a small community called Nanka in Orumba North Local Government Area. I had my primary education in Nanka and secondary in Aguata boys which is in Ekwulobia. Then, I had my University Education at the University of Nigeria (NSUKKA), from there I had a small private practice before I went for a post graduate program in Nasi College Hospital Ibadan where I graduated as a consultant of Obstetrics and Gynecologist.
What sets Noble Hospital and Fertility Centre apart from other healthcare providers in terms of quality and patient care here in Port Harcourt?
The most important factor is in TRUTH. From primary till post graduate education, I never had any of them in Rivers State, since I was born, the first time of stepping my toes in River’s state was in 2012 when I was employed as a resident gynecologist in Morning Star Hospital located at D-Line. Then in 2014, I decided to have a clinic on my own. 2020 I had to relocate to my permanent site. The major answer to your question is that I tell people the truth and I try to be as competent as possible. I take my time at a very affordable charge and do the work well. The one that is not within the scope of my specialty, I call another specialist, I don’t take risks because we are dealing with human health, I do what is humanly possible to make sure that they receive the best.
What are some of the key challenges of the hospital and how is it addressed?
The first one is power. In the rented apartment where I started the hospital at, I practiced there for 2 years without NEPA supply. I burnt diesel 24 hours for 2 good years and there has never been a night or any minute I stayed there without power. I made sure that the 2 generators were working. Because when you are doing IVF, power is paramount otherwise, those embryos will wither off. So, I made sure that I provided all the things to make sure we had 24hours power supply even when the NEPA wasn’t helping out. The time I was about to take the place, the power seemed to be constant but when I packed into the place, they started having problems. After 2 years, we had to contribute money to buy transformer before we started having power and even at that, it was so sporadic, so we still burnt 2 drums of diesel every week. More so, when I moved in here, the federal and state lights were there but it never occurred to me. I saw that the neighborhood close to us had power supply, then I called some electricians to connect me to the light, they charged me all the necessary fees and connected me to NEPA. Then, the following month, I saw some men who came in with a Hilux to cut off the light that the neighborhood said that connecting me was disturbing them. Therefore, I had to go and buy a transformer for myself, well I couldn’t afford it. So, I spent another 2 years here at the permanent site without NEPA power here before I was able to make it. Even when I procured the transformer, they said they wouldn’t give me federal light that I have to go and get transformer for state station, so I had to change the transformer which was short changed cause the prices are not the same. I had to fight this, there was nothing I didn’t do, the NEPA officials, you give them money and they run away with the money. It was sometime in the later part of last year, 2022, that power came. Even at that, they gave me state light; everybody in Port Harcourt knows that state light is like you are not having power. So, we are managing it even if we are having it 30mins in a day. There is no week we don’t burn at least 3 drums of diesel because the power is not constant. It is very sporadic.
Then another challenge we have is taxes. We pay taxes to the federal, state and the local government. And at times we are threatened with pay unless they close down the place. This has been so challenging for us. I know vividly well in abroad, people who are into private business like this, the first thing they do is to help the government employ people. I have more than 50 people paying salaries here, most of them are graduates and qualified nurses and midwives. They have a way of supporting such an establishment but here it is different.
Can you explain the process of in-vitro fertilization (IVF) and how it can help couples struggling with infertility?
IVF is born out of the fact that some couples are married and because of one factor or the other, conception is not coming. What it means is just to get the man’s sperm and the woman’s egg then fertilize it In- Vitro. In-Vitro means outside the body and incubate it for some days, here we incubate it for 5 days and transfer to the woman. A lot of things are involved because you will have to prepare the woman well, you find out what and what are the primary causes of infertility because some of them may equally affect IVF if you don’t do that. So, you will have to find out that and solve the problem. If the woman has fibroid, you remove it. IVF is a very good technology and has helped lot of couples and even those couples where the woman is already in her menopause. I will call IVF the mouthpiece of God as long as reproductive health is concerned.
What factors should a couple consider before deciding to pursue IVF treatment?
You have to look at finance, we are not talking about money to the doctor doing the IVF, it is the cost of the materials that we use. The gloves we wear alone are all foreign and other equipment cannot be gotten in the country. So, you can imagine the effect of the Naira Dollar or Pound Dollar exchange rate on the cost. If It is not only money, looking at it from the business angle, I will tell anybody who can buy those equipment’s and balance me half of the money, I will sell them, but when you put smiles on the faces of couples, who had lost hope who will come to you asking you to advise to how to adopt but we tell them No, you can still conceive and give birth to your own child. This joy alone is the major advantage we have. When IVF was newly introduced in this country, people who do it didn’t do any other medical practice but now if you do that alone, you can’t pay your workers but because of the joy we derive from there, we still carry on. Then another factor the couple has to consider is patience. It takes time to do a procedure and it can fail. One still has to come again and don’t lose hope until the doctor says I think we have to look for another method. Nobody can spend over 100 million to buy that equipment and start playing hanky pranky game. Not all gynecologists practice IVF. Most of us who were lucky to get bank loans still battle with payment of interest. The couple also need to corporate; our men are very impatient, and they think when a woman has not conceived it is the woman’s problem but NO, most often, men factor infertility is the cause. Another issue is these superstitious beliefs that the babies born of IVF are not normal babies. They are the same thing, if one likes, one can go ahead to do DNA test. A lot of persons also come to check after delivery to see if it’s the woman that is actually breast feeding the babies. This belief has to be rid of. IVF babies are normal babies and there is nothing different.
Are there any specific medical conditions or circumstances that make a person or couple more suitable candidates for IVF?
There is what we call surrogacy which is when another woman carries the baby. In cases where the woman has cancer or severely hypertensive or diabetic or other chronic medical problems, we make sure the woman is free of those. We also access the man. So, when they come, we still have what we call donor eggs, donor sperms surrogacy. If the woman is severely hypertensive or is elderly or a menopausal woman, we can use donor eggs. But some people say their culture doesn’t permit that, then we suggest surrogacy and when they don’t oblige, we advise they go for adoption. The man may also have severe erectile dis-function, spinal cord injury, or elderly or both couples are AS, AS, then we use donor sperm. One thing to note amongst these problems is that there are ways out, but our problem is that we nurse our medical problems at home and don’t reach out to healthcare providers or people who are professionals in that area.
In what ways does the hospital integrate technology and innovation to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of its fertility treatments?
IVF was born out of the fact that most of our women have tubal problems, bilateral tubal Occlusion but later we realized that male factor in infertility is even more common now. If a man has low sperm count, he can’t do conventional IVF. So, we have gone to the level of buying what we call ICSI machine which means Intracytoplasmic sperm injection. So even if a man has only 10 sperms not up to a million, but we do know that before a man is labeled eligible to pregnant a woman, at least he should have 20million. But even if the man has 100 sperm not up to a million, he can still father a child or children. This machine picks sperm and eggs one by one and with that machine, you can give him what he wants. Probably in situations where the couple reside in different countries, we do sperm preservation by freezing the sperm which can be left for 3-5 years. We can also freeze the embryos and eggs. Assume you have a woman who has cancer and is about to undergo chemotherapy, you can harvest the eggs, because if you allow her to go through chemotherapy, the ovaries will be affected. Another thing is that we send our workers for training to go and learn this work so that we don’t entrust it to one person. I’m doing it so that very soon when I’m not here; the place will still be moving, which is very important. My wife who is a pharmacist, I have sent her for embryology training, and she is doing well, the same thing with other workers, so we don’t center it on one person because anything can happen. For scanning, one must go for the training, I myself have been to India twice only to know how to identify foetus, how to measure the endometrium and other trainings. And we have these machines for various scanning processes.
Are there any future plans or expansions the hospital has in store to further advance and broaden its scope in fertility treatments, reproductive health care and other health services?
Continuity matters a lot; what I will tell you journalist is that we are making expansions. I have an outlet In Aba, I have in Owerri and though there are people working there which I am training them also so that information will not be coming from me alone and so in my absence, they can do everything. We are trying to also involve other specialties; I have an in-house physician, pediatrician. Only that here in Nigeria, government is not trying at all. We have made efforts to import these drugs and equipment but they said no, that we should get our import license and when you apply for import license, 10 years’ time, you have not gotten it, but somebody who has only WAEC results only that he or she can mobilize cash, would go for it today and they would give it to him so those things are there and it isn’t one problem but a problem that has come to live with us and it is only God that can solve it.
What life principles have you followed all these years that has made you the man you are today to yourself, family, society?
I try as much as possible to say the truth and not to offend God. Have conscience, it may be rough initially but don’t offend God. Don’t say something that because you are facing challenges, and you begin to question God. Try as much as you can to pray to God and be honest, don’t steal people’s property or money. Be hardworking, read 3 hours in the night. You can even read for up to 7 hours and make sure that you achieve what you are targeting. Try to be honest and tell people the truth, it could be bitter. Don’t chase money anyhow. At times, forget about money, you may not get anything, but secure life first, God in a way you never expected will give you bigger money. That is my belief. All fingers are not equal, treat people equally and give them what they want at the charges they can afford. God has been doing it for me. People call me monster here, what do they mean “primary- postgraduate education I didn’t do in Port Harcourt why is he progressing like this?” . The secret is truth, work with conscience, help people the most you can and trust God. Most of the achievements I have made I never expected them to come that way.
What do you want to be remembered for?
I would like to leave a legacy of honesty. Wealth is not the ultimate. A good name is very important to me.
