Sacred Heart Hospital, Abeokuta Explained

Sacred Heart Hospital, Lantoro Abeokuta is the first Nigerian hospital^[1] which was established in 1895 by the Catholic Church mission to Abeokuta^{[2] [3]} through Reverend Father Coquard as a result of the leprosy epidemic that affected Egbaland between 1857 and 1859. It is located at Itesi, Abeokuta.^[4] Louisa Rodriguez was a Brazilian nurse who assisted Coquard for about 36 years serving as the director of nursing.^[5] Coquard had one year of instruction as a medical student before he joined the missionary.^[6]

The hospital was relocated to Lantoro in 1971 by Archbishop Aggey.^[7]

It is a 300 bedded hospital that serves the southwestern part of Nigeria and the Republic of Benin. It trains nursing students and postgraduate doctors in Family Medicine.^[8]

Notes and References

1. Book: Dioka, L. C.. Lagos and Its Environs. 2001. First Academic. 978-978-34902-5-3. en.
2. Web site: 2019-04-29. Nigeria's first hospital gets orphanage centre. 2021-12-19. The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. en-US.
3. Web site: 2018-09-29. Highs and lows of some of Nigeria's first institutions. 2021-12-19. Punch Newspapers. en-US.
4. Web site: 2020-03-29. The Nigerian Victory Against The 1918 Influenza Pandemic and 1897 Smallpox Epidemic. 2021-12-19. The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. en-US.
5. Book: Hogan, Edmund M. . Cross and Scalpel: Jean-Marie Coquard Among the Egba of Yorubaland . 2012 . African Books Collective . 978-978-081-287-4 . en.
6. Book: Sofoluwe . G. O. . Principles and Practice of Public Health in Africa . Schram . R. . Ogunmekan . D. A. . 1996 . University Press . 978-978-2490-32-2 . en.
7. Book: Abeokuta: Home of the Egba . 1985 . VBO International . en.
8. Olusanya . Abiodun . Oguntoyinbo . Omobolaji . 2020 . The Place of Transcervical Amnioinfusion in the Management of Preterm Premature Rupture of membranes Remote from Term in a Private Institution . London Journal of Medical and Health Research . 20 . 1 . 17.