What is happening?

In 2002, the American Hospital Dubai has announced the completion of the first phase of an expansion program, which has increased the size of the hospital by 25 percent to almost 24,000 square meters and added 20 percent more beds.

The expansion project has also allowed the hospital to add new tertiary healthcare capabilities, which offer greater levels of specialization and therefore demand higher levels of medical expertise and specialized facilities. The expansion program, which continues into 2005, has been designed to meet the demands of patients in the UAE and wider region for more personalized care, greater comfort and convenience.

What are the key changes?

The new facilities at the American Hospital Dubai include a Dialysis Unit with private rooms; lithotripsy service (treatment of kidney stones); a 10-bed Intensive Care Unit; 10 bed Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Expanded Emergency Department staffed with American Board Certified physicians; a 13 bed child-friendly Pediatric Suite; a 9 bed Endoscopy Suite offering same-day surgery and private rooms, and an exclusive Cancer Care Unit.

The addition of the state of the art machines in the Radiology Department 1.5 Tesla MRI, 64 Multi Slice CT scan and Nuclear Medicine - have created the most modern radiology service in the Middle East, with equipment that is faster and capable of conducting a wide range of examinations with a higher degree of detail.

The very latest development was completed in October 2006 where a new, Outpatient Clinic Building and an adjacent multi-story car park was inaugurated. The Outpatient Clinic Building creates additional capacity for new clinics and examination rooms, including a dedicated oncology suite, and support services. The building also provides additional capacity for the introduction of new services, such as plastic surgery. To meet the demands of this increased level of activity, the hospital is embarking on an intensive recruitment program for additional medical staff and new physicians, who will all meet the hospitals requirement of American Board certification or equivalent.

The design, build and operation of the new facilities meet the specifications of the American Institute of Architects and the requirements of JCIA, and meet the same high standards of the original American Hospital Dubai.

The Outpatient Clinic Building provides around 18,000 square meters of new floorspace - almost the same area of the original hospital building. The Outpatient Clinic Building comprises five levels basement, ground floor plus three levels which houses 12 new standard clinics, each with 12 dedicated examination rooms (each of which is 20 per cent larger than the existing examination rooms) along with supporting activities, including an outpatient pharmacy, and a medical retail and Coffee Shop.

The basement area houses the relocated medical records department. The ground floor is a split atrium design, which also houses medical retail outlets and a Coffee Shop. Clinics are based on the ground floor and upper storey, and offer child friendly facilities including playrooms. The top (third) floor is home to offices, administrative support functions and the new conference center and auditorium. The new oncology suite is also based on the third floor, with additional free space reserved for the allocation of new clinics.

A new, 22,000 square meter multi story car parks built over six floors basement, ground plus three floors is constructed adjacent to the Outpatient Clinic Building and provides an additional 511 car parking spaces. The car park is connected to the clinics building at the basement level through air-conditioned corridors and elevators.

Key Notes

Mr. Michael French, Chief Executive Officer of American Hospital Dubai, explained the new developments: "American Hospital Dubai is being transformed through this expansion program in terms of scale and capability and we are creating a new hospital as a result, only ten years after the original hospital opened. All the facilities we have added continue to meet American standards of healthcare and the investment in the new radiology department, alone, has created a truly state of the art capability.

Moving more into tertiary care means that we have broadened the healthcare services offered and deepened the level of physician expertise and care available to meet the growing demand for our services.

The addition of the new Heart Center, and Oncology completed the range of services that American Hospital Dubai will offer to the community in Dubai, and patients from across the UAE and the region: These developments are creating a new dimension at the American Hospital Dubai that will enable us to continue to fulfill our commitment of bringing better health to the region, through our physicians, who are all North American Board Certified (or equivalent from Western programs.)

The new Outpatient Clinic Building is a necessity for us, as we continue to expand our existing services to meet demand and broaden our services, including a new, dedicated Oncology suite. The relocation of medical records and outpatient clinics allows us to add new services in the future. Quality is the watchword of everything we do at the American Hospital Dubai and this latest phase of our expansion program demonstrates this, whilst offering enhanced patient facilities and services, along with easy access and greater convenience.