Yared Agdiew (MD), a pediatric cardiac specialist.


Yared Agdiew (MD), a pediatric cardiac specialist, has taken the helm at Eka Kotebe Hospital and is starting his tenure on the front lines of the fight against the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19).

The board of the Hospital appointed Yared as of May 1, 2020, replacing Dawit Kidane, the current deputy CEO of the Hospital. Dawit has been covering both the CEO and deputy CEO posts for the last six months.

Born and raised in a small town close to Hawassa, Yared pursued his passion by attending Addis Abeba University's School of Medicine and continued his postgraduate study at Addis Abeba University's School of Health Science in general surgery. Two years ago, he left for Israel to practice cardiac surgery at Wolfson Hospital. He has completed two years of study so far.




“I came back four weeks ago to serve my country in this critical time and be part of the team treating COVID-19,” said Yared. “I might need to go back for at least one more year to get all the necessary experience and skills, since the field requires two to five years of study.”

During his practice in Ethiopia, he served at Jinka General Hospital as a general practitioner and general surgeon between 2007 and 2016. He also worked at Hayat General Hospital for half a year in 2017 and moved on to Black Lion Hospital as a general surgeon and assistant professor of surgery for the remaining half.




“My goal in this current position is to establish a centre of excellence for COVID-19 treatment and rehabilitation,” said Yared. “In the future, I want to establish a centre for pediatric cardiac surgery and contribute my responsibility as a cardiac surgeon."


Dawit, the current deputy CEO of the Hospital and former CEO, studied environmental health at Harmaya University and graduated in 2007. He then pursued his second degree in healthcare administration at Jimma University. He served as the CEO of Boru Meda Hospital in Amhara Regional State for seven years between 2011 and 2018.

He has been serving as the deputy CEO of Eka Kotebe Hospital since 2018, and he took the CEO post six months ago after the departure of Askalemariam Bikes (MD), psychiatrist and former CEO of the Hospital.

“At a certain point, it became difficult for me to cover the two positions, and I needed help,” said Dawit. “It’s instrumental to have someone who is a senior professional with the proper health background leading the hospital," he added.


Eka Kotebe Hospital, which was inaugurated in September 2019 by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, was a centre for psychiatric treatment with 100 patients that was built for 200 million Br four months before becoming a quarantine and treatment centre for COVID-19.

With the outbreak of COVID-19, the psychiatric facility was hurriedly transformed into a treatment centre for the virus. There are currently 54 medical doctors and 80 nurses attending the patients at the hospital, which has 600 beds. So far, the hospital has treated 120 individuals with symptoms and 110 confirmed cases, 69 of which have been discharged.



PUBLISHED ON May 02,2020 [ VOL 21 , NO 1044]


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