Cleveland Clinic’s Neurocritical Care Is in Abu Dhabi
By Jamil R. Dibu, MD, Section Head, Neurologic Critical Care Unit, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Why is Cleveland Clinic in Abu Dhabi?
As a direct expansion of the Cleveland Clinic
model of care, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi
builds on almost 100 years of excellence
at Cleveland Clinic, aligning its services to
meet the specific needs of the United Arab
Emirates population.
The hospital is the result of an agreement
signed in 2006 between Mubadala Investment Company and U.S.-
based Cleveland Clinic, in support of the Abu Dhabi government’s
Economic Vision 2030 to develop a robust healthcare sector in the
emirate. Its mission is to offer patients in the UAE and the wider
region access to world-class care, close to home.
What are the standards and the staffing model of CCAD’s
Neurologic Critical Care Unit?
CCAD’s Neurologic Critical Care Unit (NCCU) is a state-ofthe
art, 24-bed intensive care unit, staffed 24 hours a day
by intensivists and nurse practitioners with various training
backgrounds (neurology, anesthesia and internal medicinemedical
ICU) of which three UCNS neurocritical care board
certified neurointensivists. We follow a closed ICU model of care
whereby we ensure discussing the plan and rounding jointly on
our patients daily with consulting teams.
Meeting the level 1 NCCU standards, our neuro-ICU
multidisciplinary team includes more than 80 nursing staff
coming from over 15 different backgrounds and nationalities
as well a dedicated neuro-ICU pharmacist, respiratory therapist,
social worker, case manager, dietitian, physical therapist/
occupational and speech therapists rounding together jointly and
daily on our patients.
What resources and services does CCAD’s NCCU have?
We are fully resourced with an in-unit portable CT scanner,
24 hours a day access to CTs (including CT perfusion with
RAPID software) and MRIs covered by three neuroradiologists,
transcranial doppler (in-unit) and daily TCCDi capability, 24/7
portable video EEG monitoring availability covered by four
epileptologists.
Our neurosurgeons cover all-spectrum services from
open cerebrovascular surgeries, to pituitary, epilepsy and tumor
surgeries, readily available for any emergency procedures such
as ICP insertion and decompressive craniectomies. Five neurointerventionalists
provide 24/7 coverage of all emergency
interventional cases such as mechanical thrombectomy and
securing ruptured aneurysms within 24 hours of admission.
What is the average patient census, demographics and
predominant diseases population in the NCCU?
Mentioning Abu Dhabi’s population demographics is important
to understand the unique patients population we admit to our
unit. Our stroke program’s primary target population consists of
the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. In mid-2016, this was estimated close
to 2.8 million, 500,000 United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals (of
whom 2/3 are under age of 30) and 2,300,000 non-nationals. In
2012, it was reported that 1,500 strokes were admitted across the
Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and it has been reported that 8,000 strokes
happen per year across the whole of the UAE.
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