Building a Healthy Future for Jordan
A doctor dedicates his life to helping Jordan’s most vulnerable receive the care they need
When the COVID-19 crisis hit Jordan, Dr. Eqab Al-Rawahna was director of the emergency department and outpatient clinic at Al-Bashir Hospital, the largest public hospital in Jordan. He spent his day assessing critical patients, a particularly demanding job given a new patient arrived in the emergency room every 30 seconds. His job was to “solve problems and prioritize cases.”
What kept him going was his drive to relieve the pain and suffering he saw all around him, and the “smiles on their families’ faces” every time he and his team saved a patient. But there were times Dr. Eqab was forced to make especially tough decisions.
He explains: “The emergency department was built to receive 200 patients a day.” Ten times that many can arrive in a day. “Those with health insurance can be referred to another hospital. Those without health insurance stay here. Sometimes we cannot save them despite all our emergency procedures. This is what hurts me the most.”
Al Bashir hospital holds a special place in Jordan’s health care system. Many of its patients are poor Jordanians and recent migrants and refugees from across the Middle East, including from war-torn Syria. Given its size and the large number of specialists working in the hospital, it takes on the complicated cases that other hospitals are unable to treat.
The COVID-19 outbreak in Jordan has heightened the strain on Al Bashir. It is a primary testing site for the virus, and over the last few months its patient load has swelled as emergency patients from another hospital — one solely dedicated to patients with the virus — are redirected to Al Bashir.
With the hospital stretched thin even before the onset of the pandemic, Dr. Eqab says the emergency department facilities are unable to keep up with growing demand. He has hope for the future, however, because Al Bashir hospital is about to receive what he calls “the perfect gift at the perfect time.”
Al Bashir hospital’s new $31 million, 20,000-square-meter emergency department is almost 10 times the size of the facility it replaces, with the capacity to care for 50,000 patients a month.
The new building is outfitted with up-to-date technology, such as digital x-ray equipment, CT scanning and ultrasound machinery, surgery transport and ICU beds, as well as state-of-the-art laboratories and operating rooms. Information technology equipment and electronic medical records will support faster and better coordinated treatment of patients.
The carefully planned design, large spaces, and additional entry ways in the new facility will allow doctors and nurses greater ease of movement so they can sort and treat patients quickly and more effectively. The expanded space will also make it easier to prevent the spread of infection throughout the hospital. Additional rooms will accommodate patients’ families, an important feature in Jordan where families often stay at the hospital to provide food and care for their loved ones.
In addition to constructing and equipping the new facility, USAID is partnering with Jordan’s Health Care Accreditation Council, a local non-profit institution established with USAID support in 2007, to undertake an accreditation process at Al Bashir that will overhaul hospital management protocols. This will ensure the new facilities and equipment are properly managed and maintained to provide high quality care over the long term. USAID’s work with Jordan in health, amounting to over $1.8 billion in the last 20 years, has helped the country emerge as a regional leader in the sector.
Looking around the new emergency department, Dr. Eqab says it exceeds what he imagined as he watched the building take shape over the last two years. His colleagues are excited to move into the new facility that will help them save more lives and provide better care to those most in need.
“This facility will relieve the suffering of many people. It is a blessing” he says. “I cannot thank the American people enough.”
The Al Bashir emergency department was built and equipped with funding from the American people through USAID. The Agency coordinated with Jordan’s Ministry of Health and Ministry of Public Works and Housing on the design and construction of the facility. The United Nations Office of Project Services facilitated procurement and delivery of the furniture and equipment.
Dr. Eqab was recently promoted to director of Princess Salma Hospital, southwest of Amman.
About the Author
Julie Johnson is the Development Outreach and Communications Specialist at USAID’s Mission in Jordan.
