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PATIENT care is naturally the priority of all health providers but one pioneering hospital in Bahrain is ensuring members of its team are treated with care, comparison and enjoy the best possible quality of life outside the wards.
The American Mission Hospital (AMH), which recently announced plans to build a new facility in A’ali, has invested around BD3million on staff accommodation to help with recruiting and the retention of its quality carers.
Dr George Cheriyan, AMH’s corporate CEO and chief medical officer, said: “The apartments provide a great space for staff to unwind, call a home and feel secure.
“The housing complex was built to accommodate most of our single members of staff in high quality housing, in close proximity to our hospital in Manama.
“Savings to AMH in housing costs otherwise paid out to let apartments is considerable but it has always been the mission of AMH to be an employee-centric organisation, where personal life-work balance is at the heart of recruiting and retaining the best healthcare staff.”
The complex consists of 65 one, two and three-bed apartments, 10 retail outlets, car parking for around 100 vehicles, with a recreational hall and gym facilities on site.
The apartments are fully furnished to a very high standard and come free of cost to the staff who pay just for their utility bills.
The homes are now fully occupied, Dr George added, except for a couple of one-bedroomed apartments set aside for visitors to AMH. Staff members are allotted to the complex based on their single status with the one-bedroomed apartments offered to senior employees.
There is 24-hour AMH security with a dedicated housing caretaker on site and transportation is available for the team if they need to be taken to AMH’s sister branches at Amwaj Islands, Saar and Riffa.
As the American Mission Hospital has expanded its services across the island its staff numbers have subsequently and steadily increased and the cost of leased accommodation rental has also risen, so the investment made long-term financial sense too to the hospital management.
The AMH complex on Zubara Avenue, near the former Awal cinema, has been described as a ‘great location’. It was built in ‘record time’ from start to finish with staff members moving in within two years. The consultant on the project was Aref Sadeq Architects & Consultants.
And, the hospital workers now residents in the complex, could not be happier. Delighted Charge Nurse Mithun John, 34, who works at the AMH Amwaj Islands Medical Centre, has been living in the kingdom since 1993 and studied at the Indian School Bahrain.
“I joined American Mission Hospital in 2013 and consider myself lucky to be a part of such a reputable and ever growing organisation,” he said. “I also feel very privileged to be a part of this community which is a beautiful fusion of various cultures and religions that blend so beautifully, making Bahrain so unique and one of the most beautiful of places to live.”
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.
The ground-breaking ceremony of the planned A’ali facility, specifically focusing on the well-being of women and children, recently took place, as highlighted in GulfWeekly. It was carried out in the presence of Eddy Alemán, the General Secretary and Head of the Reformed Church in America, who also helped inaugurate the staff complex.
