Shaikh Khalifa Medical City
Encyclopedia
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
, United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
. It is administered by the Abu Dhabi General Health Authority.
The hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
initially opened its doors to the 1st patients on February 28, 2000, under the direct management of a Canadian company, InterHealth Canada, under the auspices of the General Health Authority. Its initial name was the Shaikh Khalifa Medical Center (SKMC). In 2005, it grew exponentially by merging with 2 adjacent facilities, the Central Hospital(demolished now), and the Al Jazeerah Hospital(name changed to medical pavilion under skmc ), and became the Shaikh Khalifa Medical City.
It has close to 600 acute medical beds, and offers a wide variety of Western-style medical and surgical treatment and diagnostic facilities.
One of the original aims in setting up SKMC was to provide a high-quality international standard-of-care facility so that local Emirati patients would not have to travel out of the country to Europe or North America for their medical treatments. Subsequently, the facility was expanded to accommodate the treatment of non-local patients where adequate care was not available elsewhere. In 2007, the position of Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
for the facility was given to prominent American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
vascular surgeon
Vascular surgery
Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery...
Dr. Kenneth Ouriel
Kenneth Ouriel
Kenneth Ouriel is a prominent vascular surgeon and medical researcher. He has published widely in scientific and medical journals. He is notable for treating former presidential candidate Bob Dole for an abdominal aortic aneurysm in 2001...
, who had been chairman of the department of surgey at the Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic
The Cleveland Clinic is a multispecialty academic medical center located in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. The Cleveland Clinic is currently regarded as one of the top 4 hospitals in the United States as rated by U.S. News & World Report...
, who served several years in Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi , literally Father of Gazelle, is the capital and the second largest city of the United Arab Emirates in terms of population and the largest of the seven member emirates of the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western...
. While CEO, Ouriel initiated a controversial move to disclose hospital data online which would allow people to get a "snapshot of the facility's clinical strengths and weaknesses"; Ouriel favored transparency.
External links
- Official website of SKMC. Note the alternate spelling of Shaikh as Sheikh.