Oasis Hospital

Oasis Hospital renamed as KANAD Hospital

Abu Dhabi: The Oasis Hospital in Al Ain has been renamed Kanad Hospital in appreciation of the efforts of Dr Pat and Marian Kennedy, the hospital’s founders, who started providing healthcare for infants in the city of Al Ain in the 1960s.

The renaming done under the directives of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, coincides with the UAE’s values of tolerance and coexistence.

The hospital’s new branding was launched by Shaikh Hazza Bin Tahnoon Al Nahyan, Undersecretary in the Ruler’s Representative’s Office in Al Ain, as part of a ceremony organised in the presence of Dr Mugheer Khamis Al-Khaili, Chairman of Department of Community Development – Abu Dhabi, Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of Department of Health, Abdullah Mohammed Al Nuaimi, Acting Executive Director of the National Tolerance Programme and the family of Dr Kennedy.

The attendees toured the Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Majlis, which is a prominent landmark in the city of Al Ain, located directly near the hospital entrance. The Majlis includes an exhibition of rare photos that highlight the history of Al Ain and the stages of the development the city has undergone in various sectors, especially health care.

Kanad Hospital has a special place within the Al Ain community as it was the first healthcare centre of its kind in Abu Dhabi. The hospital, which is preparing to celebrate its 60th anniversary in 2020, has witnessed six decades of the city, the birth of tens of thousands of its children and important stages of history and evolution of healthcare and wellbeing in the emirate. The hospital now offers world-class medical services in all areas of healthcare, thanks to the continuous support of the wise leadership.

Since its establishment, the hospital has gone through several developmental stages with the support of the wise leadership, most notably in 2015 with the opening of the new building equipped with the latest medical equipment and facilities.

In the hospital, pediatricians see approximately 9,000 children per month in the outpatient section. Dr Pat and Marian Kennedy worked in Al Ain until 1975.

Abdullah bin Mohammed Al Hamed, Chairman of Department of Health, underscored that the UAE’s wise leadership is carrying forward the ethos that was espoused by the founding father the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and his legacy. Since the birth of the union, the late Sheikh Zayed prioritised the provision of a robust healthcare system that would serve the UAE’s community and ensure their well-being.

He pointed out that naming the hospital after Dr Pat and Marian Kennedy is in line with the leadership’s keenness to honour and appreciate such important people whose valuable efforts continue to serve the healthcare sector and contribute to its progress until this day.

Alex Jankulowski, CEO of Kanad Hospital, said the generation currently working in the hospital is fully aware of the achievements and sacrifices made by those who have served the Al Ain community over the past six decades.

“Their accomplishments interest and motivate us daily to preserve their legacy and keep pace with the bright future of the Al Ain community, which is supported and cared for by the wise leadership, to whom we owe our gratitude, and we thank the Abu Dhabi government for choosing to honour the Kennedy family” he added.

Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi was born here The story goes that in 1960, Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan invited the Kennedys to set up a facility to provide healthcare services for newborns and infants, given that the newborns at the time were susceptible to disease. This year, the hospital celebrated the birth of 120,000 children since its foundation. It has also witnessed the birth of many members of the royal family in Abu Dhabi during the years following its establishment, among them Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed.

Tribute to Dr Marian Kennedy Dr Marian Kennedy, who together with her husband, Dr. Pat Kennedy, opened the Oasis Hospital in Al-Ain in the early 1960s, has passed away.

According to her daughter, Nancy Kennedy, “Kennedy died peacefully” back home in Carmichael,

Dr Marian was one of the recipients of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Awards, presented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The Kennedys’ life and work in Abu Dhabi were easily the highlight of their lives, and all four of their children also have very warm memories of their years growing up in Al Ain. “My parents loved the desert and the people they grew to know in Al Ain, and were loved in return,” said her daughter, Nancy Kennedy, in a tribute to her late mother.

Born in Orland, California to Ernest and Margaret Chace, Dr. Marian (Miriam) Kennedy, a mother of four with a great sense of adventure, love for God and commitment to medical mission work, graduated from Orland High School in 1941, then UC Berkeley with a B.A. in Biochemistry 1945 and an M.A. in Physiology in 1946. Her love of science, enthusiasm for learning, and passionate commitment to community service combined to motivate her to attend medical school in Philadelphia, where she met and married a fellow medical student, Pat Kennedy.

Their work took them to Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan before they settled in Al Ain, Abu Dhabi (then part of the Trucial States of Oman) and established the first hospital in Al Ain. Their efforts at the Oasis Hospital significantly contributed to the reduction of mortality rates, particularly among infants, and raised the birth rates. At least 4,000 babies were born while the Kennedys worked at the Oasis Hospital. In 1975 Drs. Marian and Pat moved to a private practice in Ripon, California.

Upon retirement they settled in Garden Valley, California. In 2005, Marian received one of the inaugural Abu Dhabi Awards, presented by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, H.H. General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who was born at the Oasis Hospital. - Gulf News with inputs from WAM

The Original Majlis The Current Majlis

Al Ain reservoir construction passes 50% milestone ME Construction News

Abu Dhabi General Services Company (Musanada) and Al Ain City Municipality (ACM) has announced that works on the main and secondary irrigation lines and reservoir construction project for the eastern sector of Al Ain City is now 50% complete, indicating that work is progressing in line with the construction plan as per the agreed delivery schedule.

According to a report by WAM, the project is envisaged to be completed by Q3 2020. Both parties have stated that the project will span 30km and will have a total cost of $15.90 million. 344 workers, engineers and consultants are working around the clock to complete all the works of the project, which is being delivered in collaboration with a number of entities and strategic partners, the report added.

It also said that the project would be delivered in record time, inline with the highest international standards and specifications.

The project serves Al Ain city and the residential and commercial areas adjacent to the international highway between the Sultanate of Oman and the UAE, which will help significantly increase economic benefits and returns as well as enhance tourist attraction to the region and Al Ain city.

It aims to secure sufficient supplies of recycled water for irrigation of existing and future vegetation cover, ensuring availability of sufficient water supplies for future and landscaping developments, besides ensuring sustainable and effective use of water while minimising use of groundwater and full automation of water and control of irrigation system at the eastern sector.

Musanada added that the project involves construction of main and secondary irrigation lines; construction of four treated water tanks, each of 900 cubic meter capacity together with the auxiliary pumping station across the eastern sector regions at Mezyad, Al Dhaher, Umm Ghafah and Al Khurair; besides construction of irrigation pipes to feed the tanks and landscaping works.

The project includes landscaping works to meet the needs of the sector’s residents across the Mezyad, Al Dhaher and Umm Ghafah areas; construction of walkways, cycling paths and exercise areas fitted with physical fitness equipment in those areas; besides construction of other 7km-long walkways and cycling paths inside Mezyad Mashtal as well as from the Mezyad Mashtal roundabout to the Truck roundabout.

The company said that it utilised the latest construction technologies and materials for the construction of the walkways and cycling paths, so as to help absorb the adverse effects on the spine for joggers and walkers. It also affirmed that it will observe eco sustainability requirements, maintaining multiple energy resources and continuously seeking to achieve sustainable development, establish the values of sustainability and add distinctive features across all the projects delivered by the company.

Mohammed Saeed Al Shamsi, Parks and Recreational Facilities Director, Regional Services, Eastern Sector, said: “The project aims to stop depletion of fresh groundwater at the eastern sector, covering the Mezyad, Umm Ghafah and Al Dhaher areas, besides meeting the needs of landscaping and walkways in line with the urban development witnessed in those areas, in addition to the preliminary findings of the study concerning the sector’s needs of irrigation treated water, recreational facilities and green spaces.

“The project scope of work will involve construction of five 12,300-metre long walkways; 2 walkways in Mezyaed: 870m and 1,140m long, Al Dhaher: 1,840m long, Umm Ghafah: 1,450m long and a 7,000-metre long walkway from the Mezyad Mashtal roundabout to the Trucks roundabout. This will be in addition to irrigation works, landscaping, playgrounds, physical fitness equipment, fittings and lighting, ultimately creating a healthy outlet for the sector’s residents,” he explained.

Al Shamsi added that the project also includes construction of 4 tanks to secure sufficient supplies of recycled water to irrigate existing and future vegetation cover, ensuring availability of sufficient water supplies for future and landscaping development, besides ensuring sustainable and effective use of water while minimising use of groundwater and full automation of water and control of irrigation system of the eastern sector.

The project is also expected to contribute to absorbing and solving the issue of rising groundwater levels in Al Ain city by diverting excess water during winter to this area, enabling execution of further landscaping to meet the needs of the sector’s residents.

Execution of this project forms part of the efforts made by Musanada and ACM to realise on the ground the UAE leadership’s vision towards providing high quality infrastructure aligned to highest international standards to meet the needs of individuals and the community at large, aiming to improve the standard of living and quality of offered services, establish sound infrastructure to support local economy, boost sustainable development and ensure the community’s wellbeing and happiness, as translated by the directives and orders of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.