The new state-of-the art ICU of Tawam Hospital in Affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine was inaugurated on Sunday 25 February, 2007, under the patronage of H.H Sheikh Tahnoun Bin Mohammad Al Nahayan, the Ruler's Representative of the Eastern Region. The top notch ICU construction was started upon the directives of the Abu Dhabi Health Authority in 2004. It boasts the latest in ICU technology and is set to become one of UAE’s best-equipped ICU’s capable of providing world-class critical care for all ages.
The 20-bed ICU will be the UAE’s largest intensive care unit and has two isolation rooms and six rooms for dialysis. Moreover, this will be the only ICU in the country to use electronic charting (paperless records) and also boasts of its own pharmacy satellite and laboratory.
Speaking at the press conference, Dr. Ahmed Al Mazrouie, CEO of Abu Dhabi Health Authority, said, “The opening of this ICU marks a new chapter in the provision of critical care to patients in the UAE. Every investment made towards improving facilities in intensive care units could prove invaluable in saving lives of patients, and Tawam Hospital, ever since its inception has been committed to providing health care of the highest quality.”
Mr. Michael Heindel, CEO of Tawam Hospital, said, “This is a proud day for all of us at Tawam Hospital as we move one step closer to becoming the best-equipped hospital in the UAE and perhaps in the region as well. Today, we are regarded as a referral center for the UAE in the areas of trauma, neurosurgery and several complicated medical conditions, and the setting up of this state-of-the-art intensive care unit further reinforces our standing.”
“For this ICU, we have adopted a multidisciplinary team approach based on the society of critical care model which includes pharmacy, respiratory therapy, nutrition support, nursing and physiotherapy. The team is led by an American board certified Intensivist and this model has shown to significantly improve outcome in the care of critically ill patients,” he added.
Some of the innovative technological therapies that will be used at the new ICU to treat critically ill patients include, High frequency Oscillatory ventilation, Inhaled Nitric Oxide and Continuous Renal Replacement. Further, the ICU team at Tawam Hospital has introduced a bed-side procedure called Percutanous Tracheostomy which will lead to minimising the number of days on ventilator support and subsequently the number of days in the ICU.
H.H Sheikh Tahnoun also toured the new high-tech d Hematology Unit that plays host to a variety of the newest and cutting-edge technologies available, which includes isolation rooms and is provided with positive pressure technology.
© 2007 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
