Abu Dhabi, July 01, 2021:  Abu Dhabi Health Services Company, (SEHA), the UAE’s largest healthcare network, further strengthens its Group Practice Model by integrating adult hematology and oncology services from Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC), a flagship tertiary hospital in the UAE and the largest teaching medical center in Abu Dhabi, with Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC), one of the UAE’s largest hospitals for serious and complex care and a joint-venture partnership between SEHA and Mayo Clinic. 

 

SEHA’s new comprehensive Hematology and Oncology center, now located at SSMC, will combine the legacy of SKMC and international expertise of SSMC to provide patients with unparalleled standards of healthcare delivery and enhance patient access to primary and specialty care across specialties. 

 

Established in 2005, SKMC has pioneered the provision of innovative medical technologies for local and regional patients, establishing itself as a market leader and setting new benchmarks for the sector. Over the past three years, the facility treated 13,400+ outpatients and 2,200+ inpatients, of which 60% were pediatric patients. 

 

By adopting a Group Practice Model, SEHA is leveraging the scale and comprehensive expertise of its network to ensure widespread access to expert care for patients and a culture of knowledge-sharing that allows professionals to work closer as one cohesive team, leveraging each other’s strengths and capabilities.  

 

Dr. Tarek Fathey, Group Chief Executive Officer, SEHA, said: “SEHA’s ultimate vision is to provide the highest quality of care and services to the people of the UAE and the wider region. As we support the UAE leadership’s ambition of transforming the healthcare industry to deliver best-in-class treatment services, incorporating the latest technology and innovation, we have a clear strategy that includes streamlining services across facilities, improving efficiencies, and creating renowned centers for the provision of specialist and holistic care. This is an integral part of our journey towards the future in establishing a modern, progressive network fit for the next 50 years and beyond.

 

“By adopting a comprehensive, integrated and collaborative approach, hematology and oncology patients will now receive multidisciplinary care with a more pronounced focus on talent acquisition and treatment methods through our partners at Mayo Clinic, to elevate the patient experience and ensure a seamless continuum of care.”

 

As part of the service line integration, SSMC’s hematology and oncology department will expand to include a 30-bed inpatient unit, 8-bed apheresis unit, and a new division of transfusion services. The only hematology-centric fellowship program in the UAE, which was formally offered at SKMC, is also being transferred to SSMC. The department will also be establishing a comprehensive Stem Cell Transplant Center at SSMC.

 

Dr. Naser Ammash, Chief Executive Officer, SSMC, said: “SSMC is accelerating full speed towards its mission of setting new benchmarks for medical care and treatment in the Emirates and the wider region. At the heart of our mission is patient care, and in efforts to respond to the country’s hematology and oncology needs, we are pleased to join forces with SKMC’s remarkable talent and expertise to strengthen the network’s collective offerings to patients, adding to the mix Mayo Clinic’s world renowned prowess. 

 

“We are steadfast in our promise to build the capital’s future Life-Science and Innovation hub that involves significant advancements in medical practice supported by research and medical education. By uniting SEHA’s powerful network and Mayo Clinic’s international expertise, we are reinforcing our focus on SSMC’s strategic priorities and inching closer towards our collective overarching vision of establishing the next Mayo Clinic destination medical center in Abu Dhabi for the care of the most complex and seriously ill patients.”

 

Following the integration of services, SSMC will provide extracorporeal photopheresis (ECP) cancer treatment and care for acute hematology and leukemia. The hospital’s Hematology and Oncology Department, led by Dr. Shahrukh Hashmi, Department Chair of Hematology & Oncology and former Director of BMT LTFU/Survivorship Clinic at Mayo Clinic, Minnesota, will offer an interdisciplinary range of services and treatments in one location and with best-in-class expertise.

 

Dr. Shahrukh Hashmi, Chair, Hematology & Oncology, SSMC, said: “Cancers are the third leading cause of death in the UAE after cardiovascular disease and injuries. In our efforts to improve this statistic and ensure patients are receiving the best-in-class care they require that meets, if not exceeds, international standards, we are strengthening SEHA’s holistic hematology and oncology offerings by combining our assets and heavily injecting international mastery.”