United Arab Emirates Embassy donates $5M to Mercy

During a ceremony held this morning in Joplin, the Washington, D.C.-based United Arabs Emirates Embassy presented a $5 million donation to aid in the construction of the new Mercy Hospital Joplin.

Mercy officials were joined by Yousef Al Otaiba, UAE Ambassador to the U.S., for the announcement of the gift, which would fund a pediatric section and the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit, according to a news release.

“The resilience of the people of Joplin is an inspiration to the entire world,” Al Otaiba said in the release. “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."

The announcement comes days before the one-year anniversary of the May 22, 2011, EF-5 tornado that hit Joplin, killing 161 people and destroying 8,000 buildings, including St. John's Regional Medical Center, which is now Mercy Hospital Joplin.

The new hospital is being constructed along Interstate 44, about three miles away from the former hospital, which is still undergoing demolition work.

According to the release, the old hospital did not have a neonatal intensive care unit. To reflect the gift from the UAE, the unit will be named in honor of the embassy.

“This is the kind of relationship that our founder Catherine McAuley would be very proud of because it connects people for the greater good,” said Sister Mary Roch Rocklage, Mercy’s health ministry liaison, in the release. “In this case, because our Middle East neighbors reached out, our babies will have access to critical care.”