Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi emerges winner in three key categories at the Middle East Management Excellence Awards 2023

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, part of the M42 network, achieved an impressive triple award win at the Middle East Management Excellence Awards 2023. The three honorary award-winning categories include Executive of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Team of the Year. The inaugural program of these prestigious awards celebrates the region’s most exceptional business leaders and organizations, and receiving multiple accolades is a testament to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s commitment to excellence. These recognitions highlight the hospital’s focus on introducing innovative and novel service lines to the UAE to position it as a benchmark for complex care and life science hub in the region. 

Dr. Jorge Guzman, Chief Executive Officer of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi said: “I credit our fundamental pillars of care, dedication to patient-first philosophy and unwavering commitment to quality and safety, as the guiding force behind Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s delivery of world-class care. These have been instrumental in achieving success in various areas, including advancing research to support Abu Dhabi’s vision of becoming a life sciences hub and introducing cutting-edge technologies for complex care. We continue to optimize and enhance patient access and experience and innovate the delivery of healthcare.”

Named Executive of the Year, Dr. Guzman’s leadership has driven Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to become a leader in the healthcare ecosystem of the Middle East region. His tenure has marked several successes for the hospital such as growth in regional and international patient numbers, increased satisfaction rates, and adoption of technological advancement to better patient outcomes. His emphasis on delivering patient-centric care, building a robust culture of excellence and upholding the highest benchmark in quality and safety have led Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi to be ranked UAE and GCC’s number one hospital in Newsweek’s 2023 World's Best Hospitals list. This recognition by the Middle East Management Excellence Awards cements Dr. Guzman’s role as a regional healthcare thought leader.

Dr. Usman Ahmad, Department Chair of Thoracic Surgery in the Heart, Vascular & Thoracic Institute, earned the Innovator of the Year Award for revolutionizing treatment of end-stage lung diseases like chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH) through lifesaving surgeries such as pulmonary endarterectomy (PEA). The hospital performed the UAE’s first pulmonary thromboendarterectomy under his guidance which is offered by only a few hospitals worldwide. His subject matter expertise has also been pivotal in driving the lung transplant program at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s multiorgan transplant center, which aligns with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi's vision to position the emirate as a premier healthcare destination regionally and globally. 

The Team of the Year Award was presented to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s Access Task Force for its exceptional work in improving patient access, delivery of healthcare and operational excellence. Some of its successful projects include creation of an embedded Contact Center model, a Telehub system, that helped cut patient inquiry response time by 92% and rollout of the Template Optimization Project that led to a 25% boost in Contact Center appointment scheduling, and 52% rise in new patient appointments.

The winners of the Middle East Management Excellence Awards were presented during a special awards ceremony held on October 11, 2023, at The Grand Hyatt, Dubai.