Out of our campus at Ain Wazein Medical Village, our Oncology Medical Center will be an integrated center of excellence in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, and palliative care. Our comprehensive services will cater to the health needs and well-being of cancer patients through a number of specialized units and complementary support services that are available to patients of the Oncology Medical Center through “The Hospital” at Ain Wazein Medical Village.
The two are linked via a spacious service bridge that ensures seamless access to advanced Laboratory testing as well as Operating Room, Blood Bank, Intensive Care and Cardiology Pole services, among others. Also available to patients are services of the Physical Therapy and Rehab Unit, located in close vicinity to the center. The latter also benefits from the various amenities available to all patients and visitors of Ain Wazein Medical Village.
Ain Wazein Medical Village has been active in the domain of early detection, screening, evaluation and treatment of cancer since 2009 and has established among its medical services a Chemotherapy Unit that performs an average of 2,500 sessions per year, with an increase of 7% to 10% yearly.
Although this unit has a remarkable reputation, AWMV aims to allocate a space for the chemotherapy Unit within the Oncology Medical Center to relocate it from the non-dedicated area it occupies within the hospital premises to ensure privacy for patients and enhance the availability of spaces for recreation. So re-launching the Chemotherapy Unit among the dedicated Oncology Medical Center, as a planned patient friendly center of excellence, will be the rebirth of this service, towards achieving the continuum of care in oncology for patients in need. The Unit aims to assure the treatment and the follow-up of cancer patients with systemic disease, and improve their quality of life.
Out of our campus at Ain Wazein Medical Village, our Oncology Medical Center will be an integrated center of excellence in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, and palliative care. Our comprehensive services will cater to the health needs and well-being of cancer patients through a number of specialized units and complementary support services that are available to patients of the Oncology Medical Center through “The Hospital” at Ain Wazein Medical Village.
The two are linked via a spacious service bridge that ensures seamless access to advanced Laboratory testing as well as Operating Room, Blood Bank, Intensive Care and Cardiology Pole services, among others. Also available to patients are services of the Physical Therapy and Rehab Unit, located in close vicinity to the center. The latter also benefits from the various amenities available to all patients and visitors of Ain Wazein Medical Village.
Project Background
The principles of palliative care units are applicable to cancer patients as well as to other life threatening illnesses, such as end stage congestive heart failure, emphysema, renal failure, dementia of any kind and many other illnesses.
Despite the improved methods of treatment, and the fact that early diagnosis can assist in a better chance of survival of cancer patients, not all patients with cancer can be cured. Cancer patients could be faced by a chronic, progressive disease that leads to a range of physical, emotional, social, and spiritual challenges occurring at any level of the disease.
Palliative care is a relatively new concept of care that begins since the diagnosis and continues until the chances of a cure decrease, where care is totally shifted to focus on optimizing quality of life for patients and supporting their families even after funerals.
Ain Wazein Medical Village has installed a Palliative Care Unit of 8 beds since 2015 in the Geriatric Medical Center, and has been nominated by the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and the World Health Organization as a national pilot center. Knowing that it is a new approach in medicine, this unit witnessed a revolution in patient care and family support and it could, despite its limited resources and less than optimal design, reduce patients’ suffering and improve patients’ quality of life for an average of 360 patients yearly. AWMV’s aim is to introduce a palliative care section dedicated for cancer patients within the Oncology Medical Center to cover, care for and alleviate the pain of more patients.
Out of our campus at Ain Wazein Medical Village, our Oncology Medical Center will be an integrated center of excellence in cancer prevention, diagnosis, treatment, research, and palliative care. Our comprehensive services will cater to the health needs and well-being of cancer patients through a number of specialized units and complementary support services that are available to patients of the Oncology Medical Center through “The Hospital” at Ain Wazein Medical Village.
The two are linked via a spacious service bridge that ensures seamless access to advanced Laboratory testing as well as Operating Room, Blood Bank, Intensive Care and Cardiology Pole services, among others. Also available to patients are services of the Physical Therapy and Rehab Unit, located in close vicinity to the center. The latter also benefits from the various amenities available to all patients and visitors of Ain Wazein Medical Village.
Radiation therapy is one of the cancer treatments that are produced by accelerators; it consists of exposing the cancer cells of a tumor to radiation that prevents the multiplication of diseased cells and leads to their destruction.
Since this oncology discipline must be adapted to meet this growing need in terms of public health, Ain Wazein Medical Village (AWMV) has successfully installed and launched a radiotherapy unit as one of the pillars of its upcoming Oncology Medical Center in order to make this treatment accessible for patients in need, and to valorize the concept of a center of excellence and provide a continuum of care in the field of oncology, knowing that before starting the service at AWMV, the nearest radiotherapy centers were between 45 km and 150 km away from AWMV’s catchment area.
The Radiotherapy Unit is the first completed project of our Oncology Medical Center. Established at the center’s 3rd basement and covering a surface area of 985 m2, the unit received its first patient on 25 February 2019.
The Radiotherapy Unit aims to treat people with cancer by destroying malignant cells with ionizing radiation, and to palliate their unpleasant symptoms caused by cancer compression. The unit’s services are essential to delivering a continuum of care within an evidence-based approach that focuses on treating and comforting fragile cancer patients.
A highly skilled and trained multidisciplinary team works together to ensure both the physical and psychological well-being of patients and to provide them with the support, compassion and information they need to overcome their challenge. The unit’s team includes a Radiation Oncologist, Medical Physicists, Radiation Technicians, Registered Nurses and Stretcher Bearers who work collaboratively to provide comprehensive radiotherapy services using the most advanced state-of-the-art technology available in Lebanon today, the Elekta Versa HD™.
The Elekta Versa HD™ is an advanced linear accelerator system designed to improve patient care and to treat a broader spectrum of cancers. Featuring high precision beam shaping and tumor targeting, Versa HD also unveils new capabilities designed to maximize health care system resources and deliver highly sophisticated therapies without compromising treatment times.
The new Chemotherapy Unit will be located in the 1st basement of the Oncology Medical Center covering a surface of 116 m2 and consisting of 8 ambulatory beds. This unit aims to assure the treatment and the follow-up of cancer patients with systemic disease, and improve their quality of life. Keeping with the Ministry of Public Health’s standards, this unit will introduce the latest approaches to patient care, within a safe and jovial environment targeting both physical and psychological well-being.
Patients will receive chemotherapy treatment, education and support by a trained, skilled and multidisciplinary oncology team consisting of oncologists, hematologists, specialized nurses, psychologists, physical therapists and a social assistant. This unit will additionally be a training and research center that receives trainees from different healthcare domains, as well as national and international studies and researches respecting ethical standards.
In parallel, the unit will be involved in public awareness and outreach, conducting – in cooperation with the different departments and units at AWMV and NGO’s in the region – campaigns that contribute to improving knowledge and breaking cancer taboos.
The new Palliative Care Unit will be located in the 1st basement of the Oncology Medical Center, covering an area of 790 m2, and will consist of 10 single beds as recommended by international standards, for assuring better privacy for patients. The aim of this unit is to deliver a specialized care that respects the patients’ dignity and improves their quality of life, while providing relief from pain and other distressing symptoms and integrating the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care with support systems to help designated patients live as actively as possible until death; all the while caring for and supporting their families too. The patients will be in the center of care, where care-givers and healthcare professionals consisting of oncologists, hematologists, specialized nurses, psychologists, physical therapists and a social assistant will work together as a multidisciplinary team in order to assure best quality care and support for both patients and their families. In parallel, the palliative care unit will be pioneer in training, research, patient education and family support.
Project Background
Just hearing the doctor say the word «cancer» can have a profound effect on a person. A diagnosis of cancer starts a long journey that can affect physical health and mental well-being, as well as relationships with loved ones. While getting treatment for the physical aspects of cancer, patients and healthcare practitioners should not neglect the emotional issues associated with the disease.
One third of patients with cancer will experience distress which requires treatment, and the most common psychiatric disorders are depression, anxiety disorders and adjustment disorders. Since Ain Wazein Medical Village is in the process of launching a fully dedicated Oncology Medical Center in order to provide a continuum of care for cancer patients within a healthy environment that targets both physical and emotional well-being, and since the green environment reflects positively on the psychological well-being of patients and offers a breather and place for relaxation, the Oncology Medical Center will have its own garden dedicated for patients and their families.
This offers another aspect of healing that goes along with medicine and allows those in need to enjoy the benefits of nature that come from plants, natural light and the trickling of water.
Project Description
The healing garden will grow trees, perennials, evergreens, shrubs and vines, but most of the plants will come from everyday life, where the healing aspect is intended to come from this very familiarity. Water sculptures and a tranquil pool add to the atmosphere.
For a sick patient, a stressed relative or a tired nurse, the garden will be a temporary «place of peace» in the midst of dealing with illness and pain; it just might be that window of light making all the difference between a bad day and a day of hope.
Project Background
The PET scan is one of today’s most efficient imaging systems. It is used particularly in the field of oncology, but it can also be used to best screen for complex systemic diseases such as epilepsy, neurologic cases such as Alzheimer’s disease, and for the detection of viable heart tissue following a heart attack. This innovative technology allows simultaneous screening of the whole body and consists of obtaining very detailed three-dimensional images that give information about the functioning of the cells.
In Oncology, this technique permits tumor detection, determining its degree of differentiation, radiotherapy planning, assessing earlier response to radiation or chemotherapy treatment, screening for the presence or absence of an active disease post treatment assessing how efficient the treatment has been, detecting the site of recurrence regardless of its location in the body, and detecting metastases that have escaped conventional examinations. Thus, a PET scan is not only a powerful diagnostic tool; it also has an influence on the therapeutic strategy.
Based on guidelines, a cancer patient needs to perform at least two PET scans per year during their medical treatment: one at the diagnostic phase in order to validate the diagnosis, study the extension report, then define the therapeutic modalities, and one at the end of each protocol in order to evaluate the results and to plan the patient’s new therapeutic plan. As follow-up, 1 PET scan per year is preferred to be done by the patient after finishing the treatment.
In Radiotherapy, a multimodal planning image – PET scan – could increase the targeting accuracy and therapeutic efficacy of the delivered radiation. Moreover, with its combination of anatomical and functional imaging, PET scan provides valuable information during and after the treatment.
Based on Ain Wazein Medical Village’s (AWMV) current activity, 1032 PET scans are requested for patients during their medical treatment and/or follow-up. And since AWMV is a referring center in its catchment area, and will be implementing a holistic care approach for cancer patients following the full launch of its Oncology Medical Center, that number is expected to witness a 5% to 10% increase yearly.
Project Description
The Nuclear Medicine Unit will be located in the 2nd basement of the Oncology Medical Center, covering a surface area of 615 m2. This unit aims to provide diagnostic imaging services for cancer patients, identify the stage of the disease, help in restaging and follow-up, avoid unnecessary intervention in patients with false-positive structural imaging results and define the target volume and treatment strategy. The unit is designed based on national accreditation standards and the highest international standards of patient safety and satisfaction.
A multidisciplinary team that includes a nuclear medicine physician, technicians and nursing staff trained in the domain will be working together to ensure both the physical and psychological well-being of patients and to provide them with the support, compassion and information needed to overcome their challenge.
The Nuclear Medicine Unit at Ain Wazein Medical Village will be equipped with some of the most advanced equipment and techniques in nuclear imaging.
Project Background
Ain Wazein Medical Village has allocated among its medical units, since 2009, 12 beds to be used when needed for the admission of patients during their chemotherapy sessions of several days, as well as for cancer patients admitted for screening, staging or follow-up of their disease. These beds are distributed across two non-dedicated units that are geographically far from each other and from the currently dedicated chemotherapy unit, which is not ideal for attaining the level of patient care, patient comfort and satisfaction we strive for.
Project Description
The Oncology Ward will be located in the 1st basement of the Oncology Medical Center covering a surface area of 479 m2 and consisting of 10 inpatient beds, including 1 private room with single bed. The aim of this unit is to receive cancer patients in a safe and serene environment in order to assure the needed treatment and follow-up and improve their quality of life within a multi-dimensional approach targeting both physical and psychological well-being.
The patients will be in the center of care, where care-givers and healthcare professionals consisting of oncologists, hematologists, specialized nurses, psychologists, physical therapists and a social assistant will work together as a multidisciplinary team in order to assure best quality care and support for both patients and their families. In parallel, the oncology ward will open its doors to trainees in different healthcare domains and will conduct and participate in research studies for the benefit of patients, all the while respecting ethical regulations.
On the other hand, and responding to the Oncology Medical Center’s vocation as a center of excellence, this unit will be involved in community awareness and outreach programs in order to improve public knowledge and help break cancer taboos.