Cutting the cake at the HMC/SickKids Partnership 4th Anniversary Lunch. From L to R: Dr. Michael Apkon, Mr. David Astley, Ms. Cathy Seguin, Abdullah Mahmoud with his father and Dr. Abdulla Al Kaabi On 7 February 2014, The HMC/SickKids Partnership entered its fifth year of the contract. This milestone was celebrated at a fourth anniversary luncheon held at the Hamad Bin Khalifa Medical City Club Hotel, on 16 February 2014 with attendance by the HMC and SickKids Executive Team and Pediatric Clinical Teams.
The celebrations coincided with Dr. Michael Apkon’s first official visit to Doha since becoming the new President and CEO of SickKids. He was accompanied by the past President and CEO, Ms. Mary Jo Haddad and SKI Vice President, Ms. Cathy Seguin.
Dr. Hanan Al Kuwari. Managing Director for HMC stated: “The partnership with SickKids demonstrates HMC’s commitment to delivering superior pediatric healthcare services that promote the well-being of children and families. Our relationship with SickKids is a true partnership; both organizations work as one to achieve a common goal – achieving excellence in pediatric care.”
At the fourth anniversary celebration, HMC formally welcomed Dr. Michael Apkon and recognized the contributions of Ms. Mary Jo Haddad, who has served as SickKids’ President and CEO for the past ten years. Dr. Abdulla Al Kaabi reflected on how HMC and SickKids entered a five-year partnership in 2010 with the aim of transforming children’s healthcare in Qatar. He said: “We have achieved significant progress in the development of pediatric services and this is due to the commitment, hard work and dedication of every member of our team working towards providing patient and family-centered care for children.”
Dr. Al Kaabi also introduced two videos describing the partnership’s impact on pediatric services. The first video showed members of the pediatric clinical teams describing the impact the partnership has had on them both personally and professionally. The second video told the story of our special guest – Abdullah Mahmoud, a six year old boy with down’s syndrome, Tracheobronchiomalacia and Ventricular Septal Defect (VSD) and described how he has developed with the help of the team in Al Maha 1 and the Complex Care Team.
The HMC/SickKids Partnership Project will formally close down in July 2015 following a six month evaluation phase focusing on impact in relation to:
- Building clinical excellence
- Building capability and capacity
- Building sustainability
