00:00In April 2024, when 11 newborn children died at the Post-Spin General Hospital in NICU, the price of neglect became undeniable.
00:13In that moment, I repeated what I'd been saying for years, open the Coover Children's Hospital.
00:20Prime Minister Kamala Passat-Bassessa during her featured address at the Christmas concert commemorating the official rededication of the Coover Children's Hospital.
00:28When assessment came in, made this year, reality was far worse than we expected.
00:36Because after almost a decade of abandonment, 217 pieces unused medical equipment, valued at over 20.68 million, were still in boxes 10 years later.
00:5310 major radiology systems worth more than $33.5 million had expired before ever treating a single patient.
01:06Prime Minister Passat-Bassessa said 45 items valued at $14.2 million were already obsolete, and 225 more systems valued at $31.9 million were non-functional.
01:19Do you know how much money that adds up to? It adds up about $100 million.
01:25Not yours, not mine. All taxpayers, about $100 million left idle, left abandoned.
01:36I say that was not delayed. It was neglect, maliciously, costing families years of care, and children access to life-saving treatment.
01:46The Prime Minister then spoke about what she identified as another cost for taxpayers.
01:52Recently, Utica confirmed about $78.2 million will be required to restore and replace equipment at this facility.
02:03Procurement and commissioning have begun, and activation is progressing in structured phases.
02:11Already, the first operating theatres were certified in September 2025.
02:20The first operating theatres. You need to acknowledge that, please.
02:28Prime Minister Passat-Bassessa said that last month, on November 28th, the first surgery was successfully performed at the Coover Children's Hospital,
02:35and as of December 5th, 86 surgeries have been completed.
02:40Jewel Brown, TV6 News.
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