Placemaker: A sense of wholeness
 United Eastern Medical Services (UEM) has selected HKS to provide architectural services for its new state-of-the-art 160-bed women’s and children’s hospital in Abu Dhabi. Scheduled for completion in 2011, the US$205m Danat Al-Emarat (‘Pearl of Emirates’), is a tribute to Her Highness Sheikha Fatima, the Mother of Emirates.
Set to become UEM's flagship hospital, the building will include medical/surgical services, inpatient and outpatient surgical suites, a 24-hour emergency department and adult and pediatric intensive care units. There is special focus given to maternity services, including a high-risk pregnancy unit for expectant mothers needing hospitalisation; labour, delivery and recovery rooms; a mother and baby unit; and a special-care nursery. Additional facilities include primary care and specialist clinics, an advanced imaging and diagnostics centre and a wellness institute that integrates medical sciences with fitness and education programmes. Premium, hotel-like services and amenities will also be available, including a spa.
"HKS is providing programming planning and concept design for the new hospital, which will be the first all-digital hospital in Abu Dhabi,” says Mohammed Ali Al Shorafa, managing director and CEO of UEM. “It will be designed at the medical forefront, with the latest technology supporting the most advanced surgical and diagnostic procedures. Its design and functionality will work in tandem to optimise dat to day hospital workflow and operations, while enhancing the patient experience.
"This is the perfect fir with HKS's expertise in medical equipment planning, clinical evidence-based design, and healing environments,” he continues. “This hospital will be more than a place of world-class care for the women and children of the UAE – it will be a destination of excellence in the Middle East.”
Steve Jacobson, HKS senior vice president, added: “Caring for patients involves more than treating their physical ailments. It also means addressing their emotional and spiritual needs by providing spaces that offer respite and restore a sense of wholeness. We are creating a warm, welcoming healing environment that will focus on the whole person – body, mind, and spirit.”
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