- Tawam holds infant abduction drill to familiarize staff and relevant authorities with crisis protocol
- Tawam CEO: "Crisis drills necessary to enhance emergency preparedness of the hospital"
Al Ain, 13 March, 2012: Tawam Hospital, in affiliation with Johns Hopkins Medicine, has held an emergency preparedness exercise to assess the coordination and response times of various hospital departments in the event of a patient abduction.
Tawam Hospital regularly holds emergency drills to familiarize staff and relevant authorities, including local fire and police units, with crisis protocol. This particular drill, 'Code Amber', was held to assess the effectiveness of Tawam's Child Abduction Response Plan. The drill was held to aid staff in their management and respective security collaborations in the process of locating and recovering an abducted infant from the hospital and returning the patient to its parents.
Mr. Ahmed Malalla, Tawam Hospital's Head of Environmental Health & Safety Department and Chair of Environment of Care Committee, said "The recent disaster exercise arranged by Tawam is a testament of how seriously the hospital takes its commitment to patients and the community. The exercise was a success, the objective of the exercise was for the Tawam team to test its decision making process abilities and our level of preparedness to respond to major threats concerning hazardous materials. Following the exercise I am more confident than ever of Tawam's capabilities in dealing with an emergency of disaster proportions".
In addition to addressing the security and infant recovery issues and collaboration with both the Al Ain and wider national police forces, the drill also involved numerous internal teams including the Communications Department and Mental Health Support Services for those involved.
Gregory Schaffer, CEO, Tawam Hospital, said, "At Tawam Hospital we take the safety of our patents very seriously. The UAE is a very safe country, and drills such as the 'Code Amber' alert are not held because the scenario is likely to happen, but rather because it is important to staff and law enforcement to ensure that effective plans are in place, should a situation of infant abduction ever arise. However, unlikely a patient abduction from Tawam Hospital is, drills such as the Code Amber alert only serve to enhance the emergency preparedness of the hospital".
Tawam Hospital is part of the SEHA Health System and is owned and operated by SEHA, which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
-Ends-
About Tawam Hospital
Tawam Hospital in affiliation with John Hopkins Medicine is a premier, 467-bed tertiary care facility located in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi, the largest of the United Arab Emirates. Tawam serves as a regional referral center for specialized medical care and a national referral center for oncology services. Though it offers services in all specialties, the hospital is best known for its neonatal care, emergency medicine, intensive care, oncology services and state-of-the-art cardiac care. Tawam Hospital is one of the first public hospital to receive JCI accreditation in the UAE. Tawam Hospital is part of the SEHA HealthSystem owned and operated by Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA) which is responsible for the curative activities of all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
About Johns Hopkins Medicine International
Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) facilitates the global development of the Johns Hopkins Medicine mission: to improve the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care.
As the international access point to thousands of Johns Hopkins experts in medicine, nursing, public health and health care administration, JHI coordinates treatment for out-of-town patients who travel to Baltimore and for local patients with limited English proficiency. It also provides services in hospital management, health care consulting and clinical education through strategic alliances and affiliations in the Middle East, Latin America, North America, Europe and Asia.
About the SEHA HealthSystem and the Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC (SEHA)
SEHA is health in Arabic. The Abu Dhabi Health Services Company PJSC- whose marketing identity is SEHA - is an independent, public joint stock company created to develop the curative activities of the public healthcare system in Abu Dhabi. The company owns and operates all the public hospitals and clinics of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi which together make up the SEHA HealthSystem. SEHA is committed to continuous improvement of customer care to recognized international standards and providing our customers and communities served world class healthcare. SEHA has partnered with internationally recognized hospital managers to achieve these goals. These include Johns Hopkins Medicine International, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, VAMED, Medical University of Vienna, and Fresenius Medical Care. SEHA owns and operates 12 hospitals with 2,644 beds, 62 ambulatory care, family care and urgent care centers and 2 blood banks. SEHA is one of the largest integrated healthcare providers in the Middle East with more than 17,000 doctors, nurses, ancillary care and administrative personnel in its employ. Visit our website at www.seha.ae. For further information, contact Salama Al Mazrouei, Manager, Corporate Marketing and Communications (A) at smazrouei@seha.ae.
For media enquiries, please contact:
Sumaya Al Harrasi
Marketing & Business Communications Manager
Tawam Hospital
Tel.: +971 3 7074646
Mobile: +971 553051305
Fax: +971 3 7074818
Email: sharrasi@tawamhospital.ae
Amal Hamad Al Darmaki
Public Relations Officer
Tawam Hospital
Tel.: +971 3 7074646
Fax: +971 3 7074818
Mobile: +971 058329733
Email: Amaldarmaki@tawamhospital.ae
© Press Release 2012
