The head of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi has set out major expansion plans for the hospital after 10 years in operation – and it is looking to shape the future of health care in the decade to come.
Dr Georges-Pascal Haber, chief executive at the hospital, said it would seek to increase its number of beds from about 400 to 500 within the next two years, amid growing demand from patients at home and abroad.
Areas currently being used for administrative purposes are being repurposed as intensive care units. There is also scope to expand beyond Al Maryah Island, with satellite clinics, surgical centres and family health centres to be established across Abu Dhabi.
Further expansion outside of the capital is also under consideration as Cleveland Clinic, one of the UAE's leading hospitals, keeps pace with an evolving health sector.
"This has been a very exciting year for us. We celebrated our 10-year anniversary and I think what we were able to accomplish in 10 short years is nothing short of amazing," Dr Haber said.
Milestone achievement
About one million patients have been treated at the hospital this year, with numbers of overseas patients rising steadily. Last year, the hospital received more than 10,000 international patients – an increase of 34 per cent compared with the previous year – with that number rising by a further 20 per cent this year.
Many of those patients arrive with highly complex conditions. “They are not coming for cosmetic procedures,” Dr Haber said. “They are coming for lung transplants, heart transplants, cancer surgery, neurological operations and advanced cardiac surgery. These are very advanced cases.
“The biggest change hasn’t only been in what we do, but how we think. The first 10 years were about reproducing excellent care. The next 10 are about creating the future of health care – here.”
Patient outcomes now match, and in several areas surpass, those achieved at leading academic medical centres in Europe and the US, he added.
Global standing
Dr Haber said the results from kidney transplant operations are comparable to the best US programmes, while the hospital's cardiac surgery work recently earned a three-star rating from the Society of Thoracic Surgeons. That grade has been achieved by fewer than five per cent of academic centres in the US.
Cleveland Clinic is embracing innovation and cutting-edge technology to further improve patient outcomes. In the past year, it has performed a fully robotic kidney transplant, involving organ removal and transplantation, as well as two of only five robotic lung transplants completed worldwide.
“It’s a different mindset now,” Dr Haber said. “We used to import innovation. Now we’re exporting it.”
Regional first
The next major development is expected in 2026, with the construction of the region’s first carbon ion therapy facility. It will enable patients to receive the advanced radiation treatment, which delivers high-energy carbon particles directly into a tumour.
“It will be the only facility with carbon ion capabilities within a five- to six-hour flight radius,” Dr Haber said. "This is a major project that will transform precision radiation treatment for patients who otherwise would have no treatment options.”
AI and genomics
Dr Haber believes significant strides in health care will be powered by artificial intelligence. “We’re at the beginning of something that will transform everything – drug discovery, precision medicine, remote surgeries, diagnosis, prevention. And it will happen fast.”
He also emphasised that the Emirati Genome project, which has gathered the genetic data of more than 800,000 UAE citizens, will be pivotal to providing targeted health care. “The Emirati Genome is a one-of-a-kind project," he added. "In fact, the number of people who have been sequenced is probably the second largest in the world after the United States.
"Leveraging this data will also accelerate drug discovery and allow those discoveries to be tailored specifically to the Emirati population. Most drugs developed worldwide were studied primarily on Caucasian patients in Europe – now we can develop and study drugs that are better suited to Emirati patients."
Life-long support
As medical treatment advances, diseases such as cancer are no longer viewed with fear. This provides an opportunity for hospitals to increase their level care.
“Cancer used to be seen as a fatal disease,” he said. “Now, in many cases, it’s becoming chronic – and sometimes curable. We need to care for patients beyond treatment, manage post-therapy side effects and minimise future risk. Longevity and survivorship are critical.”
He added that this reflected a broader shift in institutional philosophy. For the first time in more than 100 years, Cleveland Clinic updated its mission statement, moving from “providing care for the sick” to “providing care for life".
Flying to the rescue
Cleveland Clinic is also to be home to the UAE's first hospital vertiport for flying taxis. The project, a partnership with Archer Aviation, will enable traditional helicopters and electric air taxis to operate from the site.
The upgrades are intended to provide quicker transport for patients, improve time-critical organ transport and boost access for those in need of care. “We’re ready whenever Archer is ready,” Dr Haber said. “People value time. Anything that saves it will be embraced.”
Collaborative approach
Dr Haber said the country's healthcare network had been crucial to the sustained success of the Cleveland Clinic. "This hospital is among the best in the world, if not the best, but the success of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi is a result of partnership, between this healthcare system, the leadership of the country, the Department of Health, and our team,” he said.
While the clinic is preapred to support patients for years to come, he issued a message to the public that focusing on health remains the best medicine. “Prevention, exercise, a healthy diet,” he said when asked about how to avoid ill health. “Don’t neglect your health. Seek care early. Early diagnosis is the best prevention.”
