Our Lady of Good Counsel, the newest hospital centre in Albania, is another health care excellence facility built as Mother Teresa’s last will.

The hospital’s new and modern complex, set to open its doors to the public next spring, will include diagnostic activities, outpatient and research clinics in view of medical education in close cooperation with the Albanian health service and the Our Lady of Good Counsel Catholic University. 

Prime Minister Edi Rama today toured the new hospital facility, which will also serve as a hospital structure with a research centre designed to meet international standards.

Praising entrepreneurs for the investment, the government head put emphasis on the importance of cooperation with the state structures for better functioning to the benefit of citizens. 

“When it comes to functioning – since I heard you saying that this hospital is a kind of testament of Mother Teresa’s mission, a health care facility for those most in need in particular – I would like to explore ways whether a corporation is established with the Ministry of Health on how we can combine, in terms of financial sustainability, and how we can prevent this facility from becoming entirely a private hospital,” PM Rama said, adding that the government will draft a package of financial assistance for the non-public health care centres. “Our concept is to prepare a program of financial assistance for the non-public hospitals and such investments and since the ambition here is to deliver on a high quality project, I think we need to explore ways to cooperate through support packages for patients entitled to benefit under such packages.”

On their part, the Italian entrepreneurs said that the cooperation will stimulate more high quality investments in this area. “It is excellent news for us, in the sense that we are currently at a stage when we are mulling plans on how to organize work here and, of course, establishing cooperation with the state would be perfect. We can say that given the interest of the state, we will pilot activities of excellence,” they said.

To deliver on the cooperation program as soon as possible, the government head announced that a working team will be established to define the future steps. “We need to set up a working team with the Ministry of Health so that we can precisely figure out how to cooperate and given that you plan to open the hospital in April, we can meanwhile sign a memorandum of understanding and define the aspects where the state can provide its support.”