15 April 2013 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates): The American Hospital Dubai, one of Dubai's leading private hospitals and the first to be accredited by the JCI, has launched an Arabic version of its popular website, in response to the demand from its rising numbers of Arabic speaking patients. Arabic speakers - those patients expressing a preference to speak Arabic during their visit to the hospital - accounted for more than one third of all patients treated at the hospital in 2012.

The American Hospital Dubai operates a number of specialist centers, from The Orthopedic and Joints Reconstruction to Neuroscience Center to the Sleep Lab, reflecting the transformation of the Hospital into a provider of highly specialised and advanced forms of tertiary care, through teams of specialist consultants who are all US board certified or equivalent. The Hospital is increasingly developing these centers and reaching out to patients in the GCC and beyond. In 2011, the Total Joint Replacement (TJR) Center performed more than 1,000 surgeries on patients from 20 countries, and is one of the largest centers of its kind in the world. 40 per cent of these patients were from outside the UAE.

Mr Thomas Murray, Chief Executive Officer of the American Hospital Dubai, comments: "The launch of our Arabic website is a natural evolution of our patient and community communications; we know that our website is highly valued and plays an important role in communications with patients and prospective patients - helping to explain our services, introduce our physicians and provide important information on some of the most common health related issues in the region. Our website is especially important for those based outside the UAE and who may rely more heavily on web based information. More than seven per cent of our patients are international - from outside the UAE and from more than 20 countries - and around two thirds of these are Arabic speakers."

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About the American Hospital Dubai
The American Hospital Dubai is a  178-bed, acute care, general medical/surgical private hospital with more than 88 physician multi-specialty group practice, designed to provide a high quality, American standard of healthcare to meet the needs and exceed the expectations of the people of Dubai, the UAE and the surrounding Gulf States.

The American Hospital Dubai became the first hospital in the Middle East to be awarded JCI accreditation in May 2000 and successfully underwent further surveys by the JCI in 2003, 2006, 2009 and 2012 to maintain its accredited status. The Laboratory of the American Hospital Dubai earned its sixth consecutive accreditation by the Accreditation Committee of the College of American Pathologists (CAP), in 2011.

The American Hospital Dubai has continued to expand to meet the demand for more personalized services, comfort and convenience, while broadening the services and deepening the level of expertise and care offered. In response to the strong increase in local and regional demand for its services, in 2006 the hospital constructed a new state of the art Outpatient Clinic Building.

In addition to the new facilities and services, the hospital continues its ongoing physician recruitment plan, which will extend the number of American Board Certified or equivalent practicing physicians at the Hospital to over 100.

The hospital's new bed tower is currently rolling out new facilities that will create an additional 206 beds in private rooms and suites, transforming the hospital into a 384-bed campus.

Issued on behalf of the American Hospital Dubai by WPR.

Media contact: Jonathan Walsh, WPR Dubai, jon@wprme.com; +971 50 4588610

© Press Release 2013