The Alarm Clock Clinic

The Alarm Clock Clinic

The Alarm Clock Clinic was established in July 2013 as the first model hospital for children with severe brain damage. The Clinic operates at the Children’s Memorial Health Institute.

The construction of the Alarm Clock Clinic, which reached the cost of over PLN 20 milion, was founded by the Akogo Foundation, thanks to the generosity  of many individual donors, companies, foudations and the EU funds.

There are 15 beds in the clinic, as well as the entire infrastructure necessary to ensure treatment, care and neurological rehabilitation of children in a coma.

Since July 2013 there are first patients in the Clinic- children under 18 after trauma that caused serious oxygen deficiency, with appalic syndrome (except from perinatal disorders, genetically conditioned metabolic disorders) The Clinic admitts children being in coma no longer than twelve months since the trauma or six months if the coma resulted from nontraumatic causes. Children can be treated in the Clinic through the period of twelve months with the possibility of staying three months longer.

Children diagnosed in Anaesthesiology, Neurosurgery, Neurology Clinics, who are cardiovascularly and respiratorily stable and without the necessity of sustaining bodily functions at Intensive Care unit ( in the condition qualifying for intensive rehabilitation) are admitted to the Alarm Clock Clinic. The final decision of admitting a patient is taken by the Medical Selection Team  for the "Rousing children from a coma" programme. The team consists of: head of the board, neurologist, rehabilitation physician, pediatrician, physiotherapist, nurse, board secretary and - as an observer - the Akogo Foundation representative.
Detailed qualifying criteria for admittance to the Clinic

Comprehensive medical-rehabilitative programme includes: pharmacotherapy, conservative treatment, attendance benefits, rehabilitation, kinesiotherapy, psychological programme, diagnostics and medical consultation. The medical programme carried out in the Clinic is approved by the Agency for Health Technology Assessment.

Treatment in the Clinic is free of charge thanks to the funding by the National Health Fund. Parents of our patients stay in the Clinic for 24 hours with no costs and are involved in the rehabilitation process.

Apart from strictly medical and neurorehabilitative actions the compulsory eduction is provided in the Clinic: remedical education classes financed by the Education Department of the Capital City of Warsaw Municipal Office. Every day our patients participate in classess conducted by educationalists from Special Education School Complex nr 102 in Warsaw.


History of the Alarm Clock Clinic

The project of the Clinic was developed by the team of design engineers under the leadership of Jacek Bolechowski and Wojciech Krelski. It is a three-storey building plus 1500m2 basement. The clinic has 15 beds with full infrastucture and is attached to the Neuro-rehabilitation Clinic of the Children’s Memorial Health Institute. Interior decoration project and the colour scheme of the clinic was prepared by Haute Design agency represented by Magdalena Mianowska. Design studio also took part in placing untypical elements and coordinated both design and construction works.
Construction works were initiated in 2008 and the opening of the Clinic was held on December 7th, 2012. Since July 16th, 2013 we are admitting small patients.

In the Clinic we want to create systemic solutions, legal-organizational as well as medical-neurorehabilitative model for children in coma. On the regular basis we support parents and attendants in gaining information concerning neurological afflictions, physiotherapists and psychologists. We are creating programme focused on psychological support for parents, attendants, therapists and doctors suffering from long-lasting stress and burnout.

Fundation received financial support from the European Regional Development Fund.