Against all odds, The LAU Medical Centre-Rizk Hospital continues to pursue their mission to heal with compassion

The healthcare sector in Lebanon has faced countless challenges since 2019. The LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital has surged through this difficult period and has continued to invest, adapt, and expand.

Committed to serving the Lebanese community, The LAU Medical CenterRizk Hospital is determined to standby of all those who need them in good times as in times of crisis. The lynchpin of the LAUMC-RH is to Heal with Compassion, hence the importance of continually developing and improving patients experience within the LAU Medical Center.

This was well reflected during the COVID-19 pandemic, where a plan was rapidly put into place allowing the medical centres to be among the first to receive and treat patients. Furthermore, the medical centre took their mission nationwide, launching an awareness campaign through the dedicated LAU Mobile PCR Unit.

On the eve of the devastating August 4 Beirut Port blast, despite the damage the medical centre sustained, it was fully committed to the community and was able to treat more than 500 casualties. A fasttrack renovation plan was put in place in order to mend what was damaged and continue to serve the community.

The LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital has also been at the forefront of several healthcare initiatives and has been proactive in initiating a national healthcare strategy for crisis management and public health restructuring.

They started a fundraising campaign in the US for their oncology patients to ensure the continuity of treatments of their patients and avoid major supply and medication shortages.

They installed and implemented the ultramodern Hybrid OR at the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital to enhance OR efficiency. This has enabled its surgical team to perform more complex procedures with better outcomes and shorter patient recovery time.

They implemented best practices espoused by the American College of Surgeons that contributed to operating room safety, efficiency, and usage of operating room equipment. Through USAID’s support, the medical centre doubled its capacity to sterilize surgical instruments and reduced sterilization time by half, which has enabled the hospital to carry out more surgeries.

A state-of-the-art pharmacy system was established with a closed loop medication system to help improve efficiency, quality of care and minimize dispensing errors. With this new system, pharmacists are able to provide the right patients with the right dose of the right medication at the right time with traceability across the hospital.

Furthermore, regarding the patient experi- ence, LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital has:

1. Always shown compassion towards patients and their families

2. Placed patients at the centre of their services, focusing on improving the patient’s experience with regards: healthcare delivery; service excellence; value for money

3. Aimed for universal coverage for all / at all levels

4. Created Private-to-Public Partnerships

5. Reshaped the public healthcare sector essentially around Primary Care Centers.

As medical staff are at the heart of their business, they has created a plan to retain and motivate staff through several financial relief packages to support their staff by adjusting their income and benefits. In addition, by expanding and launching LAUMC-SJH, numerous job opportunities were created within the medical field.

LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital will pursue its mission to heal with compassion and develop further its services to place Lebanon’s healthcare system on the global map once again.