UAE funds new premature baby unit

The UAE has donated $5m to fund a new hospital unit in the United States to care for prematurely born babies, it has been announced. The gift will fund a paediatric section and neo-natal intensive care unit (NICU) at Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri. At a ceremony on Friday, Mercy officials and UAE Ambassador to the United States Yousef Al Otaiba announced details of the donation. The NICU will provide specialised care for ill or premature newborn infants. It will be part of the pediatric section that will occupy an entire floor of the new Mercy Hospital Joplin, and that will be named to reflect the generosity of the UAE gift. The new hospital is currently being built on the city's south side. The announcement of the UAE's gift came just days before the one-year anniversary of a tornado that killed 161 people and destroyed 8,000 buildings in Joplin, including the Mercy-owned St John's Regional Medical Centre. Mercy's commitment to Joplin drew the interest of Ambassador Al Otaiba and the UAE government, which has a track record of medical philanthropy in the US, and has assisted other communities that have suffered the destructive force of natural disasters. "The ambassador made clear in our conversations that he understands how health care is crucial to a stable and thriving community," said Lynn Britton, Mercy president and CEO. "This is what true philanthropy is all about." "The resilience of the people of Joplin is an inspiration to the entire world," added Al Otaiba. "Emiratis have watched this community recover and rebuild from the disaster last year, and we are honored to help Mercy deliver an enhanced level of medical care to children. It is our hope that current and future generations of Joplin residents will benefit from the hospital's new children's wing and NICU." Joplin has already experienced the generosity of the UAE Embassy, which donated $1m to provide laptops for all 2,200 of the city's high school students. The computers are helping students cope with the disruptions caused by the destruction of their school in the tornado.