National Research Center for Maternal and Child Health in Kazakhstan

Medical University of Vienna International GmbH (MUVI) has continually developed its portfolio since its foundation in the spring of 2005. In March, MUVI was entrusted with the medical management of a hospital in Kazakhstan. Thanks to this project, MUVI is further expanding its presence on the international health market and is thus also positioning itself in Central Asia.
 
This cooperation is already the third successful venture between MUVI and VAMED. As had been the case with the Prince Court Medical Centre in Malaysia or the Al Ain Hospital in the United Arab Emirates, MUVI was entrusted also in this project with placing the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for the National Center for Maternal and Child Health, which has 500 beds. This hospital is one of six healthcare centres in Astana managed by the National Medical Holding (NMH) of Kazakhstan.
 
National Center of Maternal and Child Health
The hospital was opened in July 2007 and is equipped with technology unique for the entire Central Asian area. The medical team can take advantage of state-of-the-art technology for diagnostics and treatment. The clinical spectrum of the National Center for Maternal and Child Health comprises all services connected with obstetrics and gynaecology including reproductive medicine as well as practically the entire services' range related to paediatrics.
 
500 beds make the National Center for Maternal and Child Health the largest hospital of the NMH, and it also convinces regarding its staff structure with some 1,000 employees, 250 of them doctors. Of the total of 500 beds, 240 are assigned to paediatrics and 260 beds are available for obstetrics and gynaecology.
 
With its service portfolio, the mother-and-child centre safeguards the medical supply for the Kazakh population. On the one hand, the high quality of the technological equipment available there and investments in training aim to make sure that in future also patients with severe illnesses, who previously had to travel abroad for obtaining treatment, have the possibility of being treated in Kazakhstan and, on the other, offers the basis for the hospital to additionally position itself in the health tourism sector of the surrounding regions. In order to fulfil the high international quality standard, the National Medical Holding has set itself the goal of accreditation pursuant to JCI by late 2010.
 
The function of Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health is vacant as of early December 2009 for a period of two years. As of immediately, habilitated doctors from the specialisations of obstetrics and gynaecology or paediatrics who are interested in managing the hospital in Astana have the possibility to submit their relevant applications online to communications@muv-international.com. For queries about the project please contact Ms Birgit Hanak, MUVI Communications and Corporate Affairs, at +43 1 40 160 – 70504. A.o.Univ.Prof.Dr. Wolfgang Umek from the Vienna Department of Gynaecology will take over the interim position of CMO until year-end.
 
Education and training in the Kazakh healthcare system
The National Medical Holding was founded by the Kazakh government with the ambitious objective of revolutionising the Kazakh healthcare system and becoming a model for successful restructuring in the Central Asian region. In addition to the medical management of hospitals, the National Medical Holding seeks innovative ways of knowledge and technology transfer.

This project is of high strategic importance also because additional hospitals are being planned in the area of Astana with management taken over by internationally experienced health managers. In addition, the Kazakh government is also interested in integrative solutions for its domestic healthcare market and healthcare policy.

Background and outlook
Kazakhstan has in recent years experienced a major upturn. In the last few years, economic growth has been at an average of 9.4%, the country's GDP has doubled since 2001. The modernisation of the Kazakh healthcare system represents one of the president's priorities, therefore he is consistently pursuing the goals of development and investment in the healthcare system. The restructuring of the post-Soviet healthcare system into a modern-day healthcare sector with "future-oriented hospitals" is a matter of urgency according to  Prof.Dr. Almaz Sharman, CEO of the National Medical Holding.
 
Apart from the mother-and-child centre, the National Medical Holding (NMH) of Kazakhstan in Astana manages five other centres with the following medical specialisations:
» a rehabilitation centre with a capacity of 240 beds 
» a rehabilitation centre with a capacity of 160 beds 
» a first-aid centre with a capacity of 240 beds 
» a diagnostic centre with an outpatient frequency of 500 patients a day  
» from 2010 a centre of heart surgery with a capacity of 180 beds.

The overall plan is that by 2015 all six centres are successfully managed by internationally renowned experts. There exists also major interest in collaboration regarding medical training, first talks with the local university's rector have already been held.