HMC holds Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Awareness Day

Rumailah Hospital, a member of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) held a Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Awareness Day on Thursday, April 14 to celebrate 30 years of providing rehabilitation programs in Qatar, and to recognize the teams and partners in the development and provision of these services. 

The awareness day themed “Devotion to the Quality of Life” also included a farewell party in honor of Dr Ana Bobinac Georgievski, Senior Consultant and former Chairperson of the hospital’s Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) Department, who is leaving HMC after 10 years of dedicated service. 

“Through this event we celebrate our journey – from the past to the present and towards the future – in working to promote quality of life for our patients, and to ensure their continuous care from the moment they come in from the community, as they undergo the care and rehabilitation process, and until they are reintegrated into the community,” said Dr Wafa Al Yazeedi, Acting Chairperson of the PM&R Department. 

Team members presented several papers which discussed the PM&R journey in Rumailah Hospital, current rehabilitation programs, rehabilitation services at HMC, and research and education at the PM&R Department. Dr Al Yazeedi also presented future plans for rehabilitation services, such as a New Rehabilitation Hospital which is under development, a day rehabilitation unit, and a specialized clinic where patients can avail of all related services in one place. 

Patients and family members were also invited to the event. “We consider patients and family members as an important part of our team and want them to celebrate the PM&R Awareness Day with us. They are at the core of our efforts to enhance our services in collaboration with all stakeholders from the hospitals to the communities,” Dr Al Yazeedi explained. “We want our patients and their families to know that we are using all our facilities, experience and expertise to promote their quality of life in the rehabilitation process.” 

“We want to recognize people who are developing and providing rehabilitation programs for the population of Qatar,” said Dr Georgievski. “Rehabilitation needs teamwork.” She explained that the rehabilitation teams consist of health professionals from various disciplines, including PM&R physicians or physiatrists, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists, social workers, orthotists, prosthetists, special dieticians, and nurses. 

PM&R services at HMC currently include inpatient and outpatient programs, including an early intervention program and specialized rehabilitation programs for patients who have suffered from stroke, traumatic brain injury, and spinal cord injury; as well as community-based rehabilitation. 

“The event also recognizes the special medical discipline PM&R which is taking leadership in this teamwork,” Dr Georgievski added. She highlighted achievements of the department, such as the establishment of a rehabilitation pathway for stroke patients, which has been in use for several years. “This has been very successful in helping us to effectively manage more patients within a shorter period of time, and to achieve better outcomes.”