The newly opened Zwemer Charity Clinic at American Mission Hospital (AMH) provides high-quality healthcare at affordable prices for low income groups. “The original Friday charity clinic has helped the needy to access quality healthcare, which is what AMH has been all about for the past 120 years,” says Julia. “But now, the Zwemer Charity Clinic offers this seven days a week.”
The clinic has been dedicated to Samuel Zwemer, the first American missionary in Bahrain. “We wanted the clinic to honour his memory, as well as of all those missionaries who spent their lives serving the community in Bahrain,” she says.
The oldest hospital in the region, AMH marks the start of the alliance between America and Bahrain. Julia says: “It’s quite a legacy for the country. And it felt fitting to house the Zwemer Clinic in the 1926 building in Manama, which was the original hospital that has now been listed as a heritage structure. It still has the wooden rafters from when it was built and is a treasure for Bahrain.”
The purpose of the Zwemer Charity Clinic is to provide high-quality, affordable medical services to those who may not otherwise be able to afford private healthcare. “We charge a flat fee of BD5 and if further investigations or a referral to a specialist is required, they automatically receive a 25 per cent discount. If it is felt that the patient cannot afford to completely pay the outstanding amount, I can authorise further waivers, which we already do on a regular basis,” says Julia.
She firmly advocates the right to quality healthcare. “I’m very passionate about this, which is why I’ve only ever worked with not-for-profit organisations. I don’t believe in making money on people’s health. AMH is well known to follow ethical practices with all our patients, whether you are prince or pauper. That is why we have received the Diamond accreditation from NHRA.”
Besides running the Zwemer Clinic, the hospital continues its community outreach programmes under Julia’s leadership, especially focusing on special needs children — a cause close to her heart.
AMH has balanced the scales with its new high-end clinic in Riffa. Julia comments: “There is nothing quite like it in Bahrain. It has the largest hydrotherapy pool and wellness centre, amongst all other regular specialties. Nowadays, Bahrain is big into sporting events and our sports medicine unit will be run by an Italian physician who is the private physician for F1 champion Lewis Hamilton.”
Having started her healthcare career as a hospital cleaner, Julia is familiar with every little aspect of a hospital environment. She believes in empowering people, especially the nurses, to take the right decisions and challenge when something is wrong. “With their holistic healthcare view, nurses are the oil that runs the engine of a hospital. I push them for self-development and keep reminding them that, with passion and determination, they can be anything they want to be.”
As a quality-driven medical facility, AMH has linked with international bodies to enable staff to undertake various online courses, such as quality improvement, patient education and patient safety, to consistently increase their knowledge base and to continue to provide the highest standard of patient care.
Julia has also set up the training and development department, which is predominantly run by nurses. “Continuous education is vital in the field of healthcare, so we set up this unit to share both knowledge and skills to all medical care providers, and we’re now inundated with requests from external individuals who want to participate in our NHRA-accredited courses,” she says. She commends the commitment of the hospital’s staff, and thinks that if people are trusted and motivated, they will want to give back to the organisation manifold.
She says: “AMH will always provide high quality, affordable healthcare to the community of Bahrain; that is our mission. Our vision is to be the best healthcare provider on the island and we will continue to grow and offer our services where they are most required.”
