Cleveland Clinic is gold sponsor of Arab Health 2008

The Gold Sponsorship is a demonstration of the Clinic's commitment to the Middle East region and in offering world-leading healthcare expertise for the benefit of patients throughout the Gulf.

In addition to the sponsorship, nine of the Clinic's leading doctors and professionals will be speaking at the Arab Health Congress, which will be held at Dubai's International Exhibition Centre from January 28 to 31.

President and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, M.D., said; "Cleveland Clinic has long been committed to the Middle East region. We value this significant opportunity to share our expertise, knowledge and insights, and learn from other specialists, about some of the most important topics facing medical professionals, and patients today."

A summary of the Clinic's speakers and their topics follows below:

Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, M.D., CEO Cleveland Clinic, will present on 'Patient Centered Healthcare,' at the Leaders in Healthcare Congress on Monday, January 28. Dr. Cosgrove will discuss the Clinic's move to the 'institutes' model whereby patients receive better quality care, with direct access to the most suitable 'institute' for their healthcare requirement.

Paul Matsen, Chief Marketing, Communications and Planning Officer will be part of the speaker faculty at the Global Healthcare Marketing Congress, sharing his insights on 'Building healthcare brands', on Tuesday 29 January.

Dr. Martin Harris, M.B.A. - Chief Information Officer and Chairman of the Information Technology Division at Cleveland Clinic will share his knowledge on 'Transforming the Practice of Medicine through Information Technology' at the IT in Healthcare Forum on Monday 28 January.

Dr. Phillip Schauer - Director of Advanced Laparoscopic and Bariatric Surgery will discuss 'Laparoscopic Bariatric Surgery' at the Surgery Congress on Tuesday 29 January.

Dr. Murat Tuzcu - Director of the Intravascular Ultrasound Laboratory in the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, will deliver a presentation on 'What is in the Pipeline for the Percutaneous Valve Treatment?' at the Interventional Cardiology Congress on Monday 28 January.

Dr. Wael K. Barsoum, Vice Chairman, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, will present his research on 'Impingement in Hip Arthroplasty' on Tuesday 29 January at the Orthopaedics Congress. He will additionally address the topic of 'Computer Assisted Navigation in Total Knee Replacement'.

Dr. Joseph Iannotti - Chairman at the Orthopaedic and Rheumatologic Institute, will discuss 'In 2007 is there a Role for Open Acromioplasty and Rotator Cuff Repair' and 'Shoulder Replacement for Trauma' at the Orthopaedics Congress on Tuesday 29 January.

Dr. Sandip Vasavada - Urologic Director at the Centre for Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Surgery at the Glickman Urological and Kidney Institute will present 'Evaluation and Management of Stress Urinary Incontinence' at the Middle East Urology Congress on Wednesday 30 January.

Dr. Daniel Mazenec - Vice Chairman at the Center for Spine Health, Cleveland Clinic will present on 'Back Pain - Red Flags and Non-Surgical Management,' at the Musculoskeletal Conference on Monday 28 January.

Cleveland Clinic has a long history of treating patients from the Middle East. The clinic's participation in the Arab Health Congress is in recognition of the increasing demands for healthcare services in the region. Cleveland Clinic has its own International Centre to help facilitate the journey for international patients who need to travel to Cleveland Clinic for care. The International Centre helps to coordinate travel arrangements, lodging and medical appointments for patients and physicians from around the world, and services for patients such as interpreters for health care appointments.

The annual U. S. News & World Report, "America's Best Hospitals" recently ranked Cleveland Clinic Heart Centre as number one in the United States for the 12th consecutive Year. Cleveland Clinic was also ranked among the three best hospitals in the United States out of more than six thousand surveyed hospitals, and its Taussig Cancer Centre was ranked 14th in the United States. Overall, the survey ranked 16 specialties at the Clinic among the best in the United States and deemed eleven of those specialties to be among the top ten.

The Cleveland Clinic Urological Institute and Digestive Disease Centre are also ranked very near the top of their fields. The institution's specialties of orthopaedics, otolaryngology, nephrology, neurology/neurological surgery, rheumatology, pulmonary, endocrinology, and geriatrics are each positioned in America's top ten. Other specialties noted for excellence at Cleveland Clinic include ophthalmology, gynecology, cancer, and psychiatry. Cleveland Clinic has approximately 1,500 physicians on their staff, representing 120 specialties and subspecialties. In 2005, Cleveland Clinic provided for nearly 3 million outpatient visits and more than 50,000 hospital admissions from more than 80 nations, including patients from across the Arab world.