SEHA, the Abu Dhabi Healthcare Services Company, recognized the healthcare providers under its ambit for projects to better healthcare delivery, in an awards ceremony held recently at Khalidya Palace. Mr. Carl Stanifer, CEO of SEHA, was at hand to present awards to winners in the Platinum, Gold and Silver categories.

The awards ceremony recognized transformational projects undertaken by SEHA’s hospitals and healthcare providers, awarding Platinum recognition to Mafraq for adopting the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) model to improve healthcare delivery standards.

Tawam Hospital was awarded the Gold award for setting up a successful cultural paradigm shift in its surgical admissions process, while SKMC bagged the prize in the Silver category for its efforts in setting up a teaching hospital that encourages research and human capital development.

Project submissions were evaluated through an assessment processed in line with American Society for Quality (ASQ) standards. Projects were ranked based on pre-defined Platinum, Gold and Silver award categories, and winners were chosen in each. Six panelists judged the submitted Transformational Events; the panel included 2 doctors from Zayed Military Hospital, a professor from FMHS/UAE University, 2 doctors from Dubai Health Authority, and a doctor from King Fahad Specialist Hospital and President of the ACHE-MENA. The first round saw 8 projects initially submitted, of which three were short-listed as potential winners.

“A transformational project significantly improves quality through a comprehensive ongoing approach to healthcare delivery excellence. It enhances service and has the potential to improve customer and stakeholder satisfaction through a cost effective alignment of people, process and technology,” Carl Stanifer, CEO, SEHA.

“A successful transformational project supports SEHA’s vision of world class healthcare, and facilitates our aim of offering safe, effective, patient-centered, efficient, equitable and measurable care for individual patients and populations,” he added.

“It was an outstanding idea by SEHA to engage their hospitals in the enhancement of excellence in patient care and other related areas. By involving healthcare providers and offering incentives, SEHA ensures they easily identify themselves with SEHA’s vision and mission. By giving the hospitals a chance to bring their own ideas for enhancing excellence, not only did own employees’ satisfaction improve, but there will also be a knock-on effect that will enhance patient satisfaction. Not just that, but productivity at hospitals will also increase by letting them implement their own initiatives” Ruth D Langer MD PhD- Professor of Radiology, Vice Dean of the FMHS

Projects were awarded on the criteria of being systematic, well developed and fact based, well deployed, effective, innovative, sustainable and replicable. The last criteria measures whether the project could be implemented in other settings to yield similar benefits, or be submitted for publication in a peer reviewed journal.

“I was delighted to see the professional yet friendly competition among hospitals, which is seldom seen in the region these days. We are confident that other healthcare institutes and organizations in the GCC will follow SEHA’s initiatives and best practices,” said Dr.Khalid Shukri- President American College Healthcare Executives Middle East and North Africa (ACHE-MENA), Saudi Arabia.

“SEHA is playing a unique role in managing the public health sector of Abu Dhabi Emirate through partnerships with recognized international companies to facilitate international healthcare standards within SEHA’s hospitals,” said Shamsa Al Mehairi, Excellence Project Lead, SEHA.

“We are looking to implement knowledge transfer events to ensure everyone can benefit from shared expertise, and that innovative solutions by a healthcare provider can be transferred elsewhere to benefit the entire system. The awards ceremony was part of this strategy of knowledge sharing, fostering healthy competition between healthcare service providers to collectively reach a world class level of service excellence in healthcare,” she concluded.
 

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