The World Mental Health Day 2011 will be carried out by Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) on 7 and 11 October 2011. This meeting aims to raise the public awareness on the importance of their psychological wellbeing. The Behavioral Science Pavilion (BSP) of SKMC is responsible for organizing the event. BSP is a comprehensive psychiatric facility committed to providing mental health services in the UAE. Dr. Jeff Staples, CEO of SKMC commented “Our physicians and healthcare professionals aim to continuously raise awareness on health amongst the public and to provide medical education to the community of physicians”.

He added “Through celebrating the World Mental Health Day and our series of public health talks on mental health throughout the year, the BSP team strives to help people in the community understand the importance of psychological wellbeing and improve the quality of their lives in addition to providing advanced psychiatry services that meets internationally recognized standards of excellence in the UAE“.

Dr. Maha Al Ameri, Director of BSP stated, “We are keen to mark the World Mental Health Day every year in addition to the monthly activities we have been organizing since March 2009 under our Mental Health Awareness Program. Through proper education and awareness, we envision the creation of mentally, and psychologically healthier community in Abu Dhabi where each individual has the right and the opportunity to live a full, healthier and productive life.”

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Jeffrey Staples, M.D., MBA is announced by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) as Chief Executive Officer of Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) managed by Cleveland Clinic. Staples will be working instead of Baltej ‘Tej’ Maini, M.D., who was appointed CEO in October 2009, after serving as chair of the SEHA/SKMC Board. Dr. Staples with his 15 years of healthcare management experience is specialized in business development, strategy and planning; healthcare systems design and integration; healthcare operations; and Joint Commission International preparations.

He said “SKMC is impressive in its array of healthcare services and its commitment to patient satisfaction. To continue providing such a high level of care, it is important to focus on employee and physician engagement through transparency, consistency, empowerment and mentoring”. In order to improve patient and employee satisfaction and teamwork, he initiated the SKMC Experience, in conjunction with Cleveland Clinic’s Office of Patient Experience. Also he was the leader of SKMC‘s five-year strategic plan and master facility plan along with rebuilding Outpatient Specialty Clinics and Family Medicine Clinics.

William Peacock, Chief of Operations at Cleveland Clinic commented “Dr. Staples is joining SKMC at a time of transformation. We are committed to maintaining the highest level of quality patient care, community engagement and employee satisfaction. We also want to express our gratitude to Dr. Maini. We are proud of the contributions he has made to SKMC, and we wish him the very best in his future endeavors”. “We have enjoyed working with Dr. Maini for the past two years and look forward to the contributions of Dr. Staples at SKMC. We wish Dr. Maini continued success. Having someone of Dr. Staples‘s caliber as the new CEO of SKMC assures us of not only a smooth transition in leadership but continual improvement of the high standards in patient care we expect at our JCI Accredited flagship facility” said Carl Stanifer, CEO of SEHA.

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The working hours in all Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi facilities have been announced during the upcoming holiday of Isra’a and Mi’raj which was declared in the UAE on 30 June 2011. All facilities including in SKMC will be entirely closed during this day. But inpatient services and Emergency Department won’t be closed.

Dr. Tej Maini, CEO of SKMC said “SKMC is keen on keeping the public and our patients informed of any changes in our working hours during holidays and national events. This comes as part of our obligation to educate the community on the timings and the best venues to visit for medical problems”. “These hours of operation reflect our response to the demands of the community during the upcoming holiday, and demonstrate our on-going commitment to provide premium healthcare services to the population of Abu Dhabi” commented Dr. Atul Mehta, CMO of SKMC.

Dangerous cases will be allowed to enter the Emergency Department all day. These cases include allergic reactions, broken bones, chest pain, difficulties in breathing, fever in young infants, head injuries, medication overdoses, motor vehicle trauma, poisoning, seizures, severe abdominal pain, serious burns, serious wounds, and vomiting and diarrhea in young children. Children have a special 10-bed area in the Department and are located at the ground floor of SKMC‘s Surgical Pavilion.

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Due to Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC)’s efforts at Medical Pavilion; Surgical Pavilion; Outpatient Specialty Clinics; Khalidiyah and Al Ettihad Urgent Care Centers; and Abu Dhabi Blood Bank, it received a re-accreditation from Joint Commission International (JCI) for three years. Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) owns and manages SKMC. The curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi are managed by SEHA.

“This is in keeping with our mission to continually improve customer care to recognized international standards and with our vision to be provided world-class healthcare to our customers and communities served. We are very proud of this accomplishment and would like to congratulate our SEHA employees at SKMC whose hard work and dedication to excellence helped achieve this honor” commented Saif Bader Al Qubaisi, SEHA’s Chairman.

Carl Stanifer, CEO of SEHA added “Re-accreditation is much more difficult to achieve than initial accreditation from JCI. So this is a true endorsement of excellence for SKMC. The re-accreditation process has played a vital role in monitoring patient care services delivery at SKMC. The accreditation status granted from the Joint Commission International for the second time ensures that SKMC is consistently delivering the highest standards of quality services and has attained a high level of patient satisfaction”.

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Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in Abu Dhabi announced that its six Family Medicine Clinics (FMC) will extend their opening hours starting from 1st May 2011. Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA) is the owner and operator of SKMC and it is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.

An access to high quality medical care will be provided by SKMC in convenient locations during convenient hours. Dr. Tej Maini, CEO of SKMC said “We are pleased to announce that we have extended the opening hours of our clinics. Our objective is to improve the delivery of health services more conveniently to the population of Abu Dhabi. It is part of SKMC’s overall strategy to improve its entire healthcare delivery network, and provide quality healthcare services to the community at all times”.

He added “We are matching the hours of operation to when the demand is high for services. Therefore, five clinics will be open from 8:00 am to 10:00 pm five days a week while Al Mushrif will open from 8:00 am until 8:00 pm during weekdays. Al Bateen will also open on Saturdays. SKMC and SEHA strive to exceed the community’s expectations for comfort and convenience; and the new working hours will allow us to use our resources more efficiently for the convenience of patients requiring medical care and follow up in Abu Dhabi“.

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At the Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) in UAE, cardiac surgeons have begun to perform the minimally invasive “endoscopic vein harvesting” procedure for heart by-pass surgeries instead of traditional open surgeries. Surgeons explained that the process “Heart by-pass or coronary artery by-pass grafting” modifies the blood flow around blocked arteries in the heart so that blood and oxygen flow more easily.

This process can be performed through extracting a vein or artery from another part of the body, like the leg, then sewing the vessel to the coronary artery to bypass the clogged artery and restore the blood flow. Dr Norbert Augustine, Chairman of the Cardiac Sciences Institute at SKMC, said: “Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting has tremendous potential benefits for patients, such as reducing leg wound complications and offering a much better cosmetic result”.

Dr Augustine said “We are pleased to be able to offer this less-invasive option to our patients at SKMC using the expertise of our team. We have already performed 30 cases using this new method with excellent results. Using this method, the vessel can be removed through one to three very small incisions”. He added “the benefits of endoscopic vein harvesting (EVH) are reduced pain, reduced blood loss, reduced risk of infection, shorter hospital stay, faster recovery, faster return to work and excellent cosmetic results”.

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Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) illustrated the reasons behind the closure  of Al Madina Center in Abu Dhabi, the  SKMC has mentioned that the closure of Al Madina Center  goes beyond the plan to upgrade SKMC ‘s ambulatory services and rebuilding the overall out patient care in its different  facilities. Dr Tej Maini, CEO of SKMCSKMC  mentioned “We have noticed a significant decrease in patient volume during the last year at Al Madina Centre while a remarkable increase occurred at the Al Ettihad Urgent Care Centre. Strategically, we decided to renovate part of Al Ettihad Centre and add more treatment spaces to it while closing Al Madina Centre,”

The Ministry of Health discovered that two doctors of Al Madina Center  were forging in medical reports of diseased person and neglecting in diagnosis other patients so that the Ministry of healh has drawn their licenses .It has also prevented them from working temporarily until the time that the medical licensing committee is ready  to illustrate the crimes that is directed to them and to answer about any questions .The Ministry of Health didn’t report the number of doctors who are under investigation.

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Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), announced that the 15th of September is the last operation day at Al Medina Urgent Care Center, one of SKMC healthcare facilities. The Center was working as a Primary Healthcare Clinic till September 2009. Then SKMC decided to change it to become an Urgent Care Center. SKMC represents a part of SEHA Health System. Its ownership and management is carried out by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA), which is the authority organizing healthcare service provided by all the public hospitals in Abu Dhabi.

Dr Tej Maini, CEO, SKMC, said” There are many reasons for the closure of Al Medina Urgent Care Center: It is in a very busy area of the city that is not easily accessible neither by taxi nor by private vehicle. Also, an ambulance has difficulty maneuvering in and out of the Center, if needed. As healthcare professional, I believe such reasons can impact our patients’ safety”. He continued “The center is also located in a major commercial area without many residential buildings nearby. Both our Khalidiya and Ettihad Urgent Care Centers are in much more easily accessible locations and can provide the services that Medina is providing”.

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