Episode 33 - Responding to Crisis Without Losing Faith with Dr. Ngozi Onyia
God can redeem broken situations.
We just have to have faith in the midst of the crisis.
That’s what we learn in today’s podcast episode with Dr. Ngozi Onyia.
Dr. Onyia started Paleon Memorial Hospital in memory and honor of her daughter Patricia, who was born with a rare congenital syndrome and passed away at 9 years old. After seeing the care and excellence Patricia was treated with in other countries, Dr. Onyia was inspired to redefine healthcare in Nigeria.
In spite of her tragic and dim circumstances, she has seen the faithfulness of God play out since the founding of Paleon Hospital, which went on to become one of the first clinics to serve COVID-19 patients in Nigeria.
Listen to Dr. Onyia share her powerful story of faith, restoration, and healing in this incredible episode.
If you like the content, remember to rate the show, share the episode, and follow the podcast on whatever platform you listen on.
Episode Transcript
Transcription is done by an AI software. While technology is an incredible tool to automate this process, there will be misspellings and typos that might accompany it. Please keep that in mind as you work through it.
Jacktone: Hello and welcome to the Faith Driven Entrepreneur Africa Podcast, where we spotlight the voices of innovators and entrepreneurs shaping the marketplace across the continent. This week we are featuring Dr. Ngozi Onyia, Dr. Onyia started Paleon Memorial Hospital in memory and honor of her daughter, Patricia, who was born with a rare congenital syndrome and passed away at nine years old. After seeing the care and excellence Patricia was treated with in other countries. Dr. Onyia was inspired to bring change to Nigeria's health care industry alongside a predominantly female workforce and the support of her church. She has led Paleon to be the first Nigerian hospital to achieve the Safe Care five star rating and the first to be accredited by Nigeria for the treatment of COVID 19. Paleon Hospital has continued to demonstrate their commitment to improve Nigeria's healthcare landscape through safe, timely, patient centered treatment, and they played a pivotal role in saving the infected during the COVID 19 pandemic in the area. We are excited to hear her powerful story. Let's tune in.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Welcome to today's podcast. We are so delighted and honored to have a special guest in the studio. And Efosa and I will be engaging with Dr. Ngozi Onyia, you are not a stranger to our podcast Dr. Ngozi Onyia, I know that the FDE team visited you in Lagos and got to see the fantastic work that you're doing. So we're truly honored to have you. Welcome.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: Thank you. Ndidi, it's an honor to be here. The pleasure too.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Fantastic. Efosa great to have you as well. And we'll just kick it off, Dr Ngozi, you know, when I hear your story and I'm sure so many listeners who have been struck by the fact that you took on this incredible vision and responsibility to start a hospital in the wake of your daughter's death. So share with us how did you actually make that decision and what went through your mind when you lost your daughter and how did it bring you to this place of founding the hospital in 2010?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: I think about Patricia's death was probably just the final catalyst that brought to birth a vision. I've had all my life, most of my working life. My dad was a doctor and run a private hospital, the first private hospital in my hometown. I think it made a big difference. So I always knew someday and I will also want to make a difference by running a private hospital. But mothering Patricia, taking her across three countries, across two continents, seeking health care opened my eyes to the things that were very good about healthcare, but also the things that were not so good about healthcare. And so I decided to run and practice good things like the way I think things should be done was very sad for me. Boarding a flight on the third day after surgery, having delivered Patricia seeking health care in the UK by condition which I had, what's being treated in Nigeria maybe 20 years earlier as a medical student. So I thought to myself, So why can this be done in Nigeria? So the point was to try and redefine healthcare in Nigeria, and that was the vision that birthed Paleon Memorial Hospital.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Now, Paleon has gone on to become a household name, especially during the COVID crisis, but it didn't always look so good. And when you decided to take this risk, you know, it was a big sacrifice because you had a good job. Can you walk us through what you were thinking about, how you managed that risk from a spiritual and personal perspective and how it eventually paid off?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: I had a very good job, very high paying job with Nigerian [....] as the medical advisor. But this has always been my dream. That was mostly a management dream and I'm born pediatrician, I am a born doctor. So it was something I always knew I wanted to do, but I needed the money as I was raising children through secondary school at university and trying to get a high paying job. But my children graduated in 2009, and so in 2010 I thought it was a good time to venture. It actually started my visiting Monrovia, Liberia, in 2009 by conference, and I almost heard the Macedonian call when Liberia had just come out of the war situation and they were rebuilding healthcare in Liberia and they didn't have a single pediatrician in Liberia. And I thought to myself. Yeah. You're a pediatrician and you're working in the Breweries, they need you in Liberia. So I made the decision to go to Liberia but for all kinds of reasons that plan didn't come to fruition. So I thought, what? I have signified my intention to leave to go to Monrovia. So as I was leaving the Breweries. And my boss handed over the check to me, my severance. He said to me, if Liberia doesn't work out for you, why don't you start a practice in Lagos? So that that specifically Kogi or Victoria Island? That's how Paleon was birthed, because Liberia didn't work out.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Amazing. So in between the lines, I'm reading tenacity, courage, but also a very supportive work environment that birthed this new vision. And I happened to sit on the board of Nigerian Breweries so I'm really happy to hear that you were at that organization and that you had a good experience. But, you know, ten years before you started making a profit, you know, those must have been difficult times. What kept you going? What vision from God and what support structures sustained your commitment to this drive?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: I think the first and most important thing, despite the fact that we didn't turn a profit for the first nine years of the business, was the fact that it was a calling beyond the job. It was the second half of my life. I mean, it was a question of been there, done that. So money was no longer a big focus as long as I was able to meet up to my commitments and pay salaries. Also, the sense of accountability. So when I started the practice, I only had half of my severance pay. The other half I had used to buy an apartment and friends and family gave me money here and there, and there was just no way I was going to go back to them to say it didn't work out. So I just kept up and the grace of God, I must give credit to a very strong, and supportive team that worked with me. People who bought into my vision, who believe that some day you turn around for good more than one occasion, couple of occasions you had to pay half salaries, you are not able to pay up the full salaries. And I've given people the option of we can pay the full salaries, but let some people go or pay half salaries. And every time they said, no, do not let anybody go, we will accept our half salaries and they did. And we never had to refund that. It wasn't a matter of we will pay you back when we became profitable, it was a sacrifice they were making and they said not one person who left the organization because they didn't get their full salaries. And it happened more than once. And I can recall at least five times that happened the last two times when 2020 just at the pandemic. So in March of 2020 and April and May, we couldn't pay the full salaries and people just pay the costs. So I've had supportive people, in fact, that sense of accountability to people who trusted me and gave me money and bought into my dream. I've have had also the sense of purpose, I think that very important sense of purpose. I realized this is what I should be doing and the fact that it wasn't profitable, do not mean that wasn't what I should be doing and the grace of God.
Ndidi Nwuneli: So hearing this Dr Onyia most people would say Nigerians accept half salary. Is that possible? That seems exceptional, but it also means that you are an exceptional leader. And I notice that you have a lot of strong women in your organization and you've built a formidable team with females in very senior roles. Can you just tell us, was that a deliberate decision to empower women? And has that proven to be a winning strategy for you?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: It wasn't a deliberate strategy, but it's very difficult to get men who will be willing to work under women. So what I found that the people who stayed, the people who bought into my vision, the people who supported me, they are mostly women. Of course, the first was my daughter. Even my son didn't stay with me. My daughter stayed with me. And yeah, so it was more of a default than a deliberate thing. But then it also became a winning strategy and so much easier for the woman to manage women. Even now that my female colleagues say that's the way I managed them be different from the way I manage the few men. They think I'm scared of the men. Yeah, they say to me, Dr Onyia, if I had done this, you would have a go at me. But because it's the male colleagues, then you are not saying much. So I think it was just much easier to manage women, I think.
Efosa Ojomo: Wow. That's interesting. Well, let me be on record that I am here being managed by my boss, my co-host, Ndidi. She's my boss here, and I'm happy to be managed by her. Well, thank you so much. Just hearing this is truly inspiring. You know, we mentioned COVID earlier, but COVID was incredibly challenging for everyone. But I was also it was rewarding as well, especially for you and your staff. You remain committed to treating patients despite the novelty of the disease. I mean, most of us didn't even know what was going on in the world. How long would it last? Your staff took a lot of it was a lot of sacrifices. You know, you also gained some visibility based on what you did. So just, you know, as the disease was really starting to surface and take over everything. What prompted you to walk into that risk in a season where, you know, we just weren't sure what this thing was and how long it will last, what it would look like. What was that conviction that prompted you to walk into it and commit to treating people.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: That decision to treat COVID, I didn't think I had an option. First and foremost, I believe that, you know, the power of life and death belongs to God. And yes, I as a doctor, I cannot fear disease. But what's the point? I cannot fear a disease as a doctor, when I signed and I swore to the physician oath to be a doctor. I did not swear to treat certain illnesses and not to treat others. So it wasn't optional. I think it's like a soldier saying they will not go to war because it's a stronger army, but they will fight against the weaker army. So for me it was never a consideration. I didn't even think we had an option. But luckily because of WhatsApp, I saw doctors saying they will not reach out and so on. So I made it very clear from the beginning that we didn't have a choice because I think if healthcare and doctors don't treat COVID then who will treat COVID. It was our responsibility to find treatment for COVID and we did it in the end, didn't we. So I think one of very difficult decision for me. But I'm also very grateful to my colleagues who walked into the vision and followed my lead without knowing you can be blinded when I didn't know which way I was going to go, but they were ready to follow me. And I'm really, really grateful for them.
Efosa Ojomo: Yeah, and I'm glad you mentioned that because that set me up for the question I was just going to ask you, which is like, I mean, during the height of this, many of your doctors, nurses, health care workers, they had to be separated from their families. You know, it wasn't a typical day at Paleon hospital. You know, you go to work in the morning, go home in the evening. How did you as a leader, deal with the pressure of having to make the decisions right on a day to day, maybe even hour to hour basis? You know, depending on the information and things we were learning about COVID and what your staff could do or couldn't do, how did you manage all of that during that time?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: It was a really challenging period, but something that helped was I was probably at my most prayerful at the time. So I go on my five kilometer prayer walks every morning and during the COVID pandemic, which was not optional, it was a lifeline for me and so I told God and I had lots of discussions with the Lord. That kept me through the pandemic. I'll tell you about a particularly difficult situation where we had two patients on the ventilator and the intensive care physicians managing the. Try to hold me to ransom. So the point of providing the service, they suddenly increase the already very high costs. I'm in charge of fees and I I'm a bit of a tough cookie myself. And I said no. And they walked away. They walked away. So I thought to myself, okay, not a big deal. I spoke to one of my colleagues. I said, Don't worry, I'll get you two more doctors. And he called the friend and said, Oh, he'll be there in 30 minutes. And 30 minutes later there was no doctor. And suddenly the phone was switched off. Surpisingly it's almost like a cartel and one person I think have said nobody should work with Paleon, so nobody was willing to work. They are losing my mind. And I had two patients on the ventilator, so I went on my prayer walk, I left my phone behind and I said, Lord, you know that I went into this not for profit or anything, but to save lives. This business to save these lives. And when I got back, I look at my phone and I saw that the nurses, the intensive care nurses who were still on duty were posting the same things that have been posted even when doctors were there. Apparently, what I found that intensive care nurse is actually the backbone of the intensive care unit for the doctor that's coming and leave the intensive care nurses are the ones who manage. And so for more than one week that intensive care was being managed by nurses only, there was nothing I could do. And then one of them said to me one day, I have this doctor. He's not a consultant yet, but he's very good at what he does. And at this point I wasn't proud. I said, Please let him come in. And he was willing to break [...] with the others and he was wiling to come in. And the good thing those two patients were discharged. They are both still alive and I talk to them regularly. Well, what is best for that? This doctor is also a Christian doctor [....]. He is Christian
Efosa Ojomo: Wow.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: So like I say, he was more excited about the fact that Mr. Patel gave his life to the Lord than the fact that Mr. Patel [...]. To the point of managing them, he was witnessing to them, he was leading them to the Lord. He had so much compassion. So in the end of all things God work is for our good and for the good of the patient? That was the most difficult part of the pandemic, those two weeks with those two patients on the ventilator?
Efosa Ojomo: Wow, yeah, I mean, I think for many of us COVID was this really big bad thing. And we may not have intricate personal stories like that, but just hearing you share that and I'm sure that many others is something two things struck out to me. Just prayer, the simplicity, yet the power of prayer, how you go on your walk and you just talk to God, our father, and how that had an impact on you, just keeping you strong and growing and the humility, the humility of going and investigating, finding out how you can solve this really serious problem, even if it meant taking in a doctor who was not yet a consultant. So anyway, thank you. I'll pass it over to my boss Ndidi.
Ndidi Nwuneli: You know, it's such an inspiring story, honestly, because I was living in Nigeria at the time, and obviously we all wish that we wouldn't have COVID and have to be in intensive care. But if you are going to be in any hospital, it was going to be Paleon. And, you know, you just were heroic at that time when many hospitals sent away patients, you receive them and you nursed them back to health. So clearly, this is a calling from God. And you've told us that you've relied on prayer. But what stands out about your story is that really it's really the elders and the fellowship laying hands and you commissioning you as co laborers, your role in the Elevation church. So can you walk us through how the body of Christ has stood by you and what role you have played in the body of Christ through this ministry?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: Thank you for your very nice comments. I was an ordained member of the Christian Union in my medical school days and we qualified. We got our result on one day, the same day we were sworn in as physicians. So we sworn to the physicians oath, and on that same evening, we also went to the fellowship with the Christian Union, where the commission, the Sunday Times on this and sent us out as co Liberals in God's Human Field. And I took it as a calling, a vocation. I am a very passionate person and I take everything I look. I tend to be almost fanatical extremist in the things I do. So I take it very seriously. I'm very neutral. And as they lay hands on me and I did feel like, you know, they were commissioning me and I took it as a serious calling. I've never been tempted to become a pastor because for me this was my own calling. And so I do with everything in me which beyond, I expect to get a rich reward heaven. So I'm working for a reward in heaven. Not really on earth, the material reward that comes on. It's nice, but it's mostly for the reward that will come in heaven. I'm accountable to God I know, he can see everything I do even to tought of my heart. So that's the passion with which I work. I then I joined the Elevation Church in 2014. Before then, I had struggled with depression. From the birth of Patricia, from the death of Patricia, from a failing marriage so I am struggling with depression. When I went to the Elevation church and the first sermon, the very first sermon I heard preached at the Elevation Church lifted that depression. And it was the sermon around the fact that we are built for connection. But, you know, when God reaches you, you may not, other people that heard that sermon probably didn't impact them in the same way. But it was the word directly from God to me that lifted my depression. And although I'm a lot older than the average age in the Elevation Church, I felt this is my home church. The truth is preached from the pulpit. And so I became a member because of the age barrier, and I'm a bit of an age-ist, it was very difficult to be as active in service as I'd like to do. But somehow I came to the attention of the leadership of the church. Quite a few of them come to this hospital and count me as their doctor, which is an honor. So they have me on their phone and I have them in my phone. So in my own little way, like an older person in the church, I'm a member of the advisory board of the Peace Foundation. And something else was during the pandemic during the lockdown, which are the very difficult periods, we talk about holding a medical Bible study on Thursdays. So every Thursday, nobody was going anywhere. We didn't have much to do. I led the Bible study for all the members of the medical workforce for the medical group. That was very comforting and very ennobling for me. So I really enjoyed that. So yes my faith community in the Elevation Church a very important part of my life and my well-being.
Ndidi Nwuneli: That's so inspiring. And I absolutely love Pastor Godman and his team. And actually when Henry was in Nigeria, I know he spoke at the Elevation Church. And right now we are partnering with the Elevation Church. I think there are 20 Faith Driven Entrepreneur Foundation groups being launched from the church as we speak. So it's really a great, great, great support network for Christians in the marketplace, which is, you know what, you've just testified so well done to you and the team. And, you know, before we go into the Rapid Fire, you know, as I reflect on that COVID period with all the good things, that was also a lot of pain. You lost more patients than you had lost in 30 years of your work as a doctor. How did you stay focused? What sustained you and how did you emotionally survive this really, really difficult period?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: It was a very difficult period. There were so many deaths in a short period of time. And I think having lost Patricia and having lost my mother soon after nine months after Patricia passed away, which was only 71, actually very healthy, very sudden death. I learned to accept death at the end of life. So it's something I do is I pray for my vision, my prayer points mostly now to what I'm looking for. So I'm praying a lot for my patients. So I pray for my patients and I follow through with their managements remotely because I didn't work in the intensive care myself. And so it was painful to see people die. One of my classmates from secondary school lost her husband in my care. That's still a big burden on my heart. I haven't seen her since her husband passed, but I just wonder how I feel when I see her. And then a friend of schoolmates also from secondary school lost her brother under my care. He was particularly painful because he called me one morning and said, Good morning, this is Dr. [....] and he says, I have COVID and I am very ill and I want you to look after me. So he had confidence he was moving from one hospital to us. And then he passed away. And that was really, really painful. But I think I just pray that I realize that some people were very ill and we had given up hope and recovered. And some who didn't appear that ill went on and died. And I realize that as long as we have done our best, we really didn't have the power over life and death that ultimately still belongs to God. So I just got on with it, which is something I'm very good at doing, getting on with things.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Getting on with it through the grace of God. Thank you. Thank you for sustaining your commitment and not giving up. So Lightning Round session is up and in 30 seconds, I'm just going to ask quick questions and please respond in 30 seconds. So the first one, I know you get a lot of wonderful notes from clients that come into your building what was one of the most memorable notes you've gotten from a client.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: The most memorable notes I've gotten from a client I received about two or three days ago, and it was Bella Dizu who put a lovely post about me on LinkedIn. That was amazing. Simply amazing. And I'll ask you all to go and look at Bela Dizu and the post you put up about three days ago.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Fantastic. we'll check it out. What's one thing you appreciate about Nigeria that not a lot of people outside the country recognize?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: There are several good things. First and foremost, we are very warm people, very warm and very kind people in Nigeria. And I think people recognize that as well.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Wonderful. I agree with you. What do you do to rest?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: I walk.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Walk and pray.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: I prayer walk 5 km , that's my rest. Yeah.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Fantastic. Fantastic.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: And I watch movies on Netflix.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Movies on Netflix. All right. How would you encourage other entrepreneurs to partner with their churches?
Dr Ngozi Onyia: The church. I think if the family's at home and I think everything starts with the home. So the church is your family and everything. You start with your family. The church be a very big part of anything you do and you should be a big part of what the church does. So service in the church, I think it's very important.
Ndidi Nwuneli: I love that your church is your family and serve your family. Last, so what advice would you give entrepreneurs who are persevering through hard times.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: Hang in there.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Efosa over to you? Hang in there.
Efosa Ojomo: Hang In there, Hang in there. I mean, that it's so simple, but it's probably one of the most important things for an entrepreneur perseverance to hang in there. Well, thank you so much. It's been amazing to learn from you, learn your story, learn about Paleon. And just the conviction that you've had to build this place of refuge for people at perhaps their most vulnerable and difficult time when they're sick and not well. One of the things we like to do at the end is just ask. You know, God is constantly knocking on our doors, trying to get our attention and teaching us new things. And so we'd just love to get a sense for What are you hearing from God? What is he teaching you now? It could be something you found in his word recently that stuck out to you. It could be in the phase of life you're in now. The big thing. But we would just love for you to share what the Lord is teaching you right now.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: So I do a Bible study, started the Bible through the year and my reading two days ago was from Matthew. chapter 25, The Story of the Talents, The New Living Translation, The Parable of the Talents. And it says God give to them according to their ability. I never noticed that before, our calling, the ability. And so I recognize that what's about God gives to us for good or bad, it's according to your abilities, you know that you are able that is what gives it to you. And so I continue you to find ways and ask for grace to do what God has asked me to do?
Efosa Ojomo: Oh, man, that's so amazing. I love how you read the Bible. I mean, you've been reading the Bible for a long time. You just said you never notice that right? It's really fascinating how it's really a living word. And the more we engage with it, the more loving father teaches us and shows us things. So last question. How can we, you know, on the faith driven team be praying for you.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: For grace to continue and to stay the course so as having done everything I will not be cast away in the end.
Efosa Ojomo: Well, that's perfect. Perfect way to end this for Grace to continue and stay the course. Yeah. We've come to the end of this podcast. It's been such a blessing and an honor to spend this time with you and thank you so much for the work you're doing and may God continue to bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you. In Jesus name, Amen.
Ndidi Nwuneli: Amen. Amen. Thank you so much.
Dr Ngozi Onyia: Thank you all. Thank you very much.
