The response was incredible. The recruitment day was due to run between 12 noon and 3pm, but people were queuing from 8am. By noon the queue was all the way around corner onto St Michael’s Drive and down to the main road. See here.

Queues snaked out of City Gate and along St Michael's Road

Almost 500 people attended the recruitment day, with half of those being nurses. By people came from all over the south of Ireland, from as far afield as Kerry and Waterford; ten people even came down from Dublin. This not too surprising as there had been extensive media coverage about the event on page of the Irish Examiner and page 6 of the Irish Independent, both local radio stations, Red FM and Cork’s 96 FM as well as national radio stations, Today FM, Newstalk and Radio 1, which culminated in piece on RTE’s Six One TV News, which you can view here: http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0119/corkmedicalcentre.html#video

This demand led to the open day running on until 4.30pm to ensure everybody was seen too and ensure they also got to see the facility. The Irish Examiner sent a photographer down to cover that day and did a follow up piece below, which also appeared on page 2, by their local news reporter Eoin English see below:

Coverage from Page 2 of today's Irish Examiner

Below is a link to the article on the web and we have also pasted in text

http://www.examiner.ie/ireland/almost-500-compete-for-100-jobs-at-new-hospital-142988.html

Cork Medical Centre, Ireland’s newest hospital, is having a Public Open Day on Saturday 20^th November. Everyone is welcome to visit this state-of-the-art-facility between 10am and 4pm – there will be hospital tours throughout the day.

The €90m private hospital is the first new private hospital to open in Cork for 90 years. Opened in Mahon last month, it is the first hospital in Ireland to provide all single ensuite bedrooms. This is the last chance for visitors to see the six cutting edge Opitz and Flierl operating theatres, the 75 single ensuite bedrooms, or get up close with the hospital’s CT and MRI scanners.

Free blood pressure tests will be provided to all visitors and face painting will be on hand for children.

It was recently announced that the Cork Medical Centre is to be covered for 80% Quinn Healthcare and Aviva customers; both companies will be on hand during the Open Day to give people advice on healthcare and answer any questions they have about their health plans, taking out a health insurance plan or how to switch providers. They’ll also be running giveaways for prizes on the day.

According to Philip Sheehan, the Chief Operating Officer of Cork Medical Centre: “The hospital is very special, this type of facility has not been provided in Cork before. We want to use the Public Open Day on Saturday 20^th November to show the people of Cork what fantastic facility they have on their doorstep. We need to close the operating theatres to visitors soon, so this is the last chance for people to see the inside of an operating theatre and the incredible scanners that we have here.”

For further details please call the hospital on 021 601 3200. The last tour of the day will start at 3pm.

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CORK’S FIRST PRIVATE HOSPITAL IN 90 YEARS OPENS ITS DOORS

Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheàl Martin TD officially

opens the €90mCork Medical Centre.

Cork Medical Centre (CMC)

Ireland’s most advanced hospital, the Cork Medical Centre (CMC), was today officially opened by Minister for Foreign Affairs, Micheàl Martin, at City Gate in Mahon, Cork. The new €90m facility is operated by Sheehan Medical and is the first private hospital to open in the city for 90 years.

CMC will provide a huge boost to the local economy employing 525 people in the 5 star facility. It is the first hospital in Ireland to come with entirely single en-suite bedrooms, 75 in all, with 25 day patient beds. When fully operational Sheehan Medical expects to cover 39,000 patient treatments per year.

Extending to 135,000 sq ft it has 6 Opitz & Flierl ‘ultra-clean’ operating theatres; all fitted with the latest infection control and using advanced surgical techniques combined with the most cutting edge technology. This state of the art facility will also be fitted with next generation IT systems, such €9m of Siemens advanced diagnostics technology, including the first an Artis Zee Biplane system in Europe[1].

CMC features all single bedrooms with ensuite shower rooms.

Speaking at the launch today Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheàl Martin TD said: “The Cork Medical Centre is a world class facility. As well as providing medical care CMC represents a major boost to the local economy by providing direct jobs and demand for services in local communities. The centre will be accessible to the majority of health plans and is an important asset for Cork. I want to wish all the team at CMC every success into the future.”

Dr Joseph Sheehan, the renowned surgeon, has returned from the US after 35 years to become CEO of CMC; speaking at the launch he said: ‘‘We have been planning a new hospital in Cork for several years so the opening of CMC marks the successful end of a long process for us. Cork has missed out on new facilities for almost a century, and there is a major shortfall in the provision of operating theatres in the Munster region; Dublin’s catchment area has over two and half times more private operating theatres, despite having a similar population. Our day theatres are already 75% booked up; therefore, meeting this important surgical demand in the south of the country will be our main priority.”

Infection control is at the forefront of the design and procedures at CMC. The fully single rooms are not just for comfort, they are integral to stopping the spread of infections. Other elements include infection resistant fittings and fixtures. Infection control protocols ensure all patients are swabbed for MRSA on entry to the hospital and put in one of the four isolation rooms if tests are positive. Each isolation room has its own air handling system and negative air pressure, which minimises the risk of air borne infections leaving the isolation rooms. More details below.

5 Star facility with6 operating theatres

CMC was approved by Aviva health insurance recently and is accessible by 80% of their customers. Negotiations with Quinn Insurance and VHI are in the final stages and expected to be completed shortly.

Based in the City Gate development in Mahon the location is now emerging as an important medical hub for Cork. The Cork Medical Centre is complemented on site by the largest VHI Swiftcare Clinic in Ireland, which is already referring patients to the new hospital. City Gate also houses the VHI Medical Centre and the national headquarters of the Health Information & Quality Authority.  The site is strategically located next to Mahon Point Shopping Centre close to Cork’s South Ring. In total the development has 330,000 sq ft of high quality floorspace with 900 free car parking spaces.

For further information please contact: Simon Palmer, at Republic PR on + 353 (0) 851 341 761 or email: simon@republicpr.ie

NOTES TO EDITORS

Infection Control Facts

• CMC will be the first hospital in Ireland to have all single bed rooms (73) – crucial to helping reduce the transmission of infections.
• Everyone entering the hospital will be swabbed for MRSA on entry. If tests are positive they will be put in one of the isolation rooms until it is removed.
• There are four isolation rooms in the facility, one in each of the three wards and one in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Each isolation room is mechanically ventilated with negative pressure and HEPA filtration (High Efficiency Particulate Arresting filters) to ensure airborne infections do not leave the room.
• CMC has six Opitz & Flierl operating theatres with stainless steel doors that are kick operated to reduced hand borne infections.
• The Theatre and Endoscopy operating room walls are constructed of stainless steel modular panels coated with anti-microbial powder.
• HEPA filter canopies over each operating table, and Ultra Clean-Laminar Flow for Orthopeadic procedures, push air born infection onto the floors.
• The theatre department is designed with two separate goods lifts for clean goods in one way and waste out the other.
• Similarly patients enter each theatre in one door and leave via another, thus reducing risk of cross contamination.
• Each of the four main operating theatres has a HEPA filter canopy over each operating table, two of which are Ultra Clean-Laminar Flow for Orthopeadic procedures
• All the clinical wash hand basins throughout the facility have sensor taps to make every opportunity available to staff to minimise the chances of infections spreading
• There is MRSA resistant glass in all the en suite bathroom pods and the back splashes for all of the sinks in the hospital.
• There are 14 different air handling units used for heating and ventilating the facility, that are controlled by a state of the art Siemens Building Energy Management System (BEMS). The BEMS system also monitors and controls the temperature of all hot and cold water services insuring water reaches each tap at the correct temperature. All pipe work runs have been designed and installed to minimize dead legs thus reducing risk of legionnaires disease.
• The day-care Endoscopy Department has 2 No. state of the art Wassenburg pass through scope sterilizers complete with Hot RO water system and full computerised traceability system.

Background to Sheehan Medical

Sheehan Medical was set up to operate private hospitals in the UK, Britain and mainland Europe. The company is operated by Chief Executive, James Sheehan, and his father Dr Joseph Sheehan. Sheehan Medical’s aim is to bring best practice in US medical techniques and standards to Ireland. The company prides itself in combining the operation of first class medical facilities with a successful business model. The unique share holding structure allows doctors and consultants to buy into the ownership of their hospitals and share in the financial success.

Chairman Dr Joseph Sheehan, along with his brother Dr Jimmy Sheehan, both Dublin natives, were two of the founders of the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin, which opened in 1984. In January 2006, he was part of a small group that purchased the controlling interest in the Blackrock Clinic from BUPA. An €80m expansion project is currently underway.

In 2004 he again partnered with his brother Jimmy to open the Galway Clinic, which received international recognition and re-established Dr. Sheehan’s commitment to raising healthcare standards through dedication to quality improvement and technological advances.

An active surgeon for over 35 years, Dr. Sheehan was the Chairman of Orthopedics at Central Dupage Hospital from 2004- 2006, which he led to be recognised as one of the top 50 Orthopaedics Departments in the US for 2007 and 2008 (US News and World Report). During his tenure the hospital implemented the most cutting – edge medical treatments in the world, including the Interventional Radiology Stroke Department and the Proton Treatment Cancer Centre (one of only 7 in the world for treating patients)

He is now an Associate Professor of Orthopaedics and Rehabilitation at Loyala University Medical School in Ilinois, USA. Joseph is also currently in private practice in Chicago where he performs general orthopaedics and specialises in joint replacement and reconstruction.Chief Executive, James Sheehan, specialises in the administration of medical care from the science to the management side. A native of Chicago he moved to Ireland in 2002 to step into his father’s role as project manager and co-developer of the Galway Clinic (that had started in 2001) in addition to taking over his role as Director of the Blackrock Clinic.

Following his time at the Galway Clinic, he started the development of three private medical centres: Cork, Ireland; Lisbon, Portugal; and Glasgow, Scotland. He remains a director of the Blackrock Clinic and Galway Clinic.

Background to John Cleary Developments.

John Cleary Developments (JCD) is a privately owned property development and investment company specialising in the construction of office, retail, medical and light industrial property, primarily in Cork, for the past 20 years.  The low profile firm are one of the biggest business park developers in the south of Ireland, to date completing over 785,000 square feet of quality business park space in Cork, creating successful working environments for over 1500 people.

JCD has recently received planning permission for an additional 280,000 sq ft of high end office accommodation at a site adjoining the existing City Gate which it acquired from Cork City Council in 2009.  When completed it is envisaged that the total City Gate development will provide jobs for over 3,000 people and is specifically designed to cater for large multi-national clients.

The €140m City Gate Development comprising of a total of over 330,000 square feet and has 900 underground car parking spaces making it one of the largest new commercial developments in Ireland.  Located adjoining Mahon Point Shopping Centre, on the South Ring Road Network, the new Cork Medical Centre will be extremely accessible for patients. Designed around a central plaza, incorporating a Cafe and attractive civic space, City Gate has set a new standard for commercial developments in Cork.

As well as having the largest VHI Swiftcare Clinic in Ireland, JCD have now leased over 180,000 square feet of office space at City Gate. Tenants including McAfee, Big Fish Games and Solarwinds, who have chosen City Gate as their European, Middle East and African headquarters in the face of very stiff competition. Other occupiers include HIQA, Pobal and Regus. The scale of these lettings is unprecedented in Ireland particularly given the current market conditions.

An additional 35,000 sq. ft has recently received a change of use planning permission to outpatient medical uses. A large portion of this space is currently under negotiation with internationally renowned medical operators and the intention is to create a world class medical campus.

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I’m currently having weekly PR meetings in Cork in the run up to the launch and last week I took some videos and photos to show how fit out is progressing.

The video below shows a 360 degree view of the fantastic City Gate development where the CMC is located. City Gate is first class with exceptional quality of workmanship and finishes. It was developed by local cork developers John Cleary Developments (JCD).

Also on site at City Gate is Cork’s only VHI SwiftCare Clinic, located only a minute’s walk to CMC. This short video below shows how close the entrances to both facilities are.

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