'This will keep families together': Top US doctors team up with Abu Dhabi hospital to care for the young

Team from Cincinnati Children's Hospital already at work in Sheikh Khalifa Medical City

Teams of doctors from one of the top-ranked children's hospitals in the US are already working with counterparts in Abu Dhabi as part of a project to provide the best possible care for families in the UAE.

A collaboration was announced in May between Sheikh Khalifa Medical City (SKMC) and Cincinnati Children's Hospital to transform Abu Dhabi into a regional centre of excellence for advanced paediatric medicine, research and training, strengthening the emirate’s position as a global destination for specialised health care.

The first visiting teams – including cardiology, orthopaedics, gastroenterology, neurosurgery and oncology – have already begun work on site, performing surgery and joint consultations alongside Emirati physicians.

The co-operation combines SKMC’s clinical experience with Cincinnati Children’s 142 years of expertise and innovation.

“When we evaluate partners, we look first at cultural alignment,” said Dr Daniel von Allmen, regional president of Cincinnati Children’s. “In the UAE we found that alignment immediately with SKMC. The dedication to patient-centred care here mirrors our own.”

Cincinnati Children's was this month named in the top 10 leading hospitals in the US for paediatric care in the latest US News and World Report's Best Hospitals list.

Dr Daniel von Allmen, regional president of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital in the US.

For Dr Mohamed Alseiari, acting chief medical officer and consultant transplant nephrologist at SKMC, the partnership represents progress and continuity.

“As someone trained in the US, I was thrilled to see a world leader in paediatric medicine come to Abu Dhabi,” he said. “Our ambition is to become a regional referral centre and a benchmark for children’s care.”

Abu Dhabi Central Hospital, commissioned in 1966 by UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, and opened in 1968, was the emirate’s first hospital and remained a symbol of the country’s early commitment to health care until its closure in 2008. Al Jazeera Hospital, established in the mid-1970s, merged with Sheikh Khalifa Medical City in 2005. Some of its buildings are now protected heritage sites – a reminder of the city’s medical beginnings even as the hospital looks firmly to the future.

The phased transformation will introduce new paediatric units, advanced rehabilitation services and a child life programme – specialists trained to ease young patients’ anxiety before procedures and to support their families throughout treatment.

Training, mentorship and knowledge exchange

Under the first phase of the plan, 11 consultant-level physicians across the five core specialities will be recruited, and supported by more than 100 nurses and allied-health professionals.

“We are not replacing our doctors,” said Dr Alseiari. “We are enhancing their capabilities, closing gaps and bringing best practices to Abu Dhabi. This will ensure families no longer have to travel abroad for most specialised treatments.”

Cincinnati Children’s experts are also helping to design long-term infrastructure upgrades and new protocols that match the standards of leading US and European institutions.

Long-term vision

The partnership, signed in April, is structured as a five-year renewable agreement with expansion in two-year phases. The next stage will widen co-operation into fields such as genetic medicine, rare-disease research and data-driven care, using the UAE’s national biobanking and health informatics.

“This is a marathon, not a sprint,” said Dr von Allmen. “In five years, SKMC will be delivering services unavailable anywhere else in the Gulf – and families will know they can find world-class care right here at home.”

Cincinnati Children's philosophy, he added, is always to keep children as close to home as possible: “If care can be provided locally, it should be. If not, we bring them to Cincinnati and return them home as soon as we can. That same approach guides our work here.”

Building trust – and a future

Beyond clinical targets, both institutions see building trust as vital. Joint patient conferences, shared rounds and integrated protocols are already helping teams learn from each other.

“Our teams have been impressed by the calibre of Emirati doctors,” Dr von Allmen said. “Their skills are excellent. What we’re doing is adding system support and the infrastructure to match their capabilities.”

For SKMC, the vision is equally clear. “This partnership will keep families together,” said Dr Alseiari. “In the past, parents had to travel abroad for months seeking care for their children. Now, they will receive that same level of care in Abu Dhabi, surrounded by their families and community.”

Dr Mohamed Yahya Al Seiari, acting chief medical officer, Sheikh Khalifa Medical City. Victor Besa / The National

He added that achieving complete self-sufficiency may not be realistic anywhere in the world, “but reaching 95 per cent is".

Ultimately, the collaboration represents more than an institutional agreement – it is a reflection of the UAE’s broader commitment to health, innovation and human development.

“Children are the future,” said Dr von Allmen. “By investing in children’s health today, SKMC is also an investing in the well-being of generations to come.”