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ONE of the kingdom’s leading medical establishments is celebrating the acknowledgement of its caring excellence as it surges ahead with expansion plans.
The American Mission Hospital in Manama, and both its satellite branches in Saar and Amwaj Islands, has been awarded with Diamond status by the National Health Regulatory Authority of Bahrain.
It represents the highest level of accreditation that can be given to a hospital in the kingdom, in a system that includes Gold and Silver standings.
A team of inspectors spent three days at the centre undergoing a plethora of checks, balances and observations, from every aspect of the hospital from medical care to financing and governance.
Dr George Cheriyan, AMH’s chief medical officer and CEO, said: “By pursuing and achieving Diamond status, American Mission Hospital has demonstrated that it meets NHRA standards for quality and is committed to pursuing excellence.
“An organisation receiving this status has put itself through a vigorous peer review process, scoring above 95 per cent in a large number of categories reaching far beyond simple health care. It has demonstrated its commitment to offering programmes and services that are measurable, accountable and of the highest quality.
“Ultimately, I’d like to see every hospital in Bahrain achieve this award, not just ours. In the meantime, our goal will be to continue to improve our standards and ensure that in three years when we are accredited again, we maintain our Diamond status.”
This is not the first time AMH’s work has been highlighted. It was recognised as ‘one of the best’ regional hospitals by the International Socrates Committee based in Oxford, England. In addition, Dr George was also honoured with a ‘Manager of the Year’ award by the same body, as reported in GulfWeekly.
The Reformed Church in America co-owns the enterprise, which runs under a government ministry. Shaikh Mohamed bin Abdulla Al Khalifa holds the position of board chairman and its members include Hall Delano Roosevelt, the grandson of a former US president and a leading Bahrain-based businessman.
AMH’s mission statement says it maintains a commitment to provide quality, affordable medical services.
The latest accolade comes at a great time for the not-for-profit hospital, as it is still enjoying the opening of its new state-of-the-art Saar clinic, which moved to a bigger location at the end of last year.
Plans are in place to open a fourth clinic in Riffa in October, which will have a specialist physiotherapy centre and feature the kingdom’s largest hydrotherapy facility.
“Furthermore, it will have a sports medicine clinic run by physicians who have specialised in training Olympic athletes,” Dr Cheriyan revealed. “It will run in collaboration with a clinic in Italy and offer treatment and services previously unavailable in Bahrain.”
What started as an idea in New Brunswick, New Jersey, US is now celebrating more than one hundred years of hard, dedicated work in the field of medical care.
In 1888 at the Theological Seminary of the Dutch Reformed Church, a teacher and his three students had the calling to begin work in Arabia.
Dr. John G. Lansing had inherited his interest in the region from his father, a pioneer worker in Syria and Egypt. Born in Damascus, John had always felt the call back to Arabia. With the help of his three students Samuel M. Zwemer, James Cantine and Philip T. Phelps (who later decided not to go to Arabia) he formulated a plan to create what was to become known as the Arabian Mission.
Through the personal donations of several people, the Arabian Mission finally had enough money to send its first missionary out.
Samuel, who followed after James on his travels through Arabia, stopped-over in Bahrain frequently, and on December 7, 1892, rented a room, which led to the opening of a medical dispensary in the Old Souk in 1883. This ignited the vision of a health service for Bahrain.
