Three new hospitals in the UAE, under Aster and Medcare brands, eye treatment of patients coming from wider GCC region.
The Group will soon launch its mega project Aster Medcity, South Asia's largest quaternary healthcare destination, in Kochi-Kerala, India.
DUBAI- January 29, 2014
Aster DM Healthcare, the leading healthcare conglomerate in the Middle East and India, and the Gold Sponsor of the ongoing Arab Health Congress and Exhibition 2014, announced opening of three new hospitals under two different brands in the UAE. The Dubai-headquartered healthcare major will also launch the first phase of Aster Medcity, South Asia's largest quaternary care hospital in Kochi-Kerala, India in the first quarter of the year.
Among the three new UAE hospitals, the first project is the Aster Hospital in Mankhool, Bur Dubai. The facility, with 85 beds, is in the final phase of the preparation for commissioning in the third quarter of the year. The other two projects - the 75-bed Medcare Mother & Children Specialised Hospital on Sheikh Zayed Road-Dubai and a 110-bed Medcare Hospital in Sharjah - are nearing completion, and scheduled to open very soon. The three hospitals will have a combined capacity of 270 beds, ensuring better accessibility, availability and affordability of quality healthcare for more patients.
The super-specialty Medcare Mother & Children Specialised Hospital would offer comprehensive mother and child care with an advanced neonatology unit, and a super-speciality centre for post-delivery dermatology and skin care. The Medcare Hospital in Sharjah would be a multi-specialty premium hospital, one of the largest of its kind health facility in Sharjah.
The Aster Medcity in Kochi-Kerala, prepared for a soft launch of the Phase-1 in February, is a conglomeration of several super-specialty hospitals in one campus that spreads over 40 acres of land along one kilometre waterfront, aimed at integrating nature with healing. Dubbed unique as a global healthcare model with high-end infrastructure, cutting-edge medical technologies and excellent knowledge partnership with healthcare innovators from different parts of the world, the iconic medical city will be a major healthcare destination in the South Asia once it's operational.
As Kochi is well connected to the Middle East and several countries of the world, the 1,100-bed capacity medical city will be within easy reach of local and international communities, especially the people from the Middle East, Africa and European Union for advanced and cost-effective care. The state-of-the-art quaternary care referral hospital cluster is being developed at an estimated investment of USD 300 million. The Aster Medcity will capitalise the potential of the Kerala as a health tourism destination, attracting patients from all around the world and promoting reverse brain drain of Indian healthcare professionals.
A fourth hospital, under the Aster brand, is also being developed in Qatar and scheduled to launch in 2015. The new projects in the Middle East, at an estimated investment of AED 260 million, will offer advanced care through a synergy of cutting-edge medical technology and highly qualified medical professionals of multinational and multilingual background. With the new hospitals, the bed capacity of hospitals under Aster DM Healthcare network will be increased by 5,000 over the existing 1,850 beds. The Group is also planning to roll out another 25 Aster medical centres and 150 Aster pharmacies across the GCC by the end of 2015 to achieve its planned 300 units by the year 2017.
As part of its commitment to support innovation and development of the region's healthcare industry, Aster DM Healthcare signed up as the Gold Sponsor of the ongoing Arab Health Congress & Exhibition, the Middle East's largest and the world's second largest healthcare industry event. The Congress will empower the healthcare sector to impart knowledge, share insights and ensure continued training to medical professionals on various health issues. Aster DM Healthcare is now preparing to position itself as a global integrated healthcare provider with a strong presence across the world.
The Group currently owns and operates a network of more than 175 units - across the GCC and India covering an array of healthcare verticals -- from clinics, medical centres, diagnostic centres, hospitals, pharmacies, medical college, modern medical city to a healthcare consultancy service and a charitable foundation. Consolidated under its corporate umbrella, ASTER DM Healthcare owns a range of brands including ACCESS, ASTER, MEDCARE, DM WIMS, ASTER Medcity and MIMS Hospital. The multitude of health facilities including 11 hospitals offer primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary care in order to meet requirements of people from a cross section of the society
Commenting on the Group's new launching projects in the UAE and India, Dr. Azad Moopen, Chairman and Managing Director of Aster DM Healthcare, said, "We are extremely proud to announce the launch of our new hospital projects, aimed at providing care to people from all sections of the society. This is part of our strategy to lead the change in the healthcare sector by being the largest healthcare provider in the region and beyond. We will soon unveil Aster Medcity, which significantly focuses on promoting health tourism sector in Kerala, India. The project will not only support the medical requirements of the state and the nation, but will also act as a premium medical tourism destination in India, in addition to providing a platform for knowledge sharing in the healthcare sector."
"Aster DM Healthcare significantly contributes to the UAE's medical sector giving priority to raise the standards of medical practice. We have about 1,200 beds under construction. The number of units under the Group is set to grow to 300 units by the year 2017, and we are looking at further investment opportunities in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. We are also working ahead to be at the forefront of the industry, being a global healthcare player in the next 12 years by spreading our wings onto several other geographies," he added.
"The green-field project, ASTER Medcity located at Cheranallur in Kochi, will cover a 3.2 million Sqft built-up area in its first and second phases of the development. In the first phase, Aster Medcity will have a 575-bed master hospital, flanked by nine Centres of Excellence (CoE) for different super specialties. The second phase will see an addition of 500 beds to the facility along with a Medical Convention Centre, a 4-star hotel and serviced apartment complex, staff accommodation for medical and para-medical professionals -- all in one campus," Dr. Moopen further said.
Aster Medcity will have a pool of internationally recognised doctors, researchers and medical professionals migrating back to India with their wealth of global expertise, skills and exposure to the advanced knowledge garnered from top-ranked medical institutes across the world. Meanwhile, Aster Medcity will provide the best international standard treatments at the lowest cost in the subcontinent.
A workforce of approximately 2,000 specialty doctors and other staff will be deployed for patient care in the first phase of the project. A high-end residential facility of about 1.5 million Sq.Ft. is also planned with an integrated township to accommodate a population of about 10,000 people. Aster Medcity will have intellectual and operational partnerships with international healthcare establishments like Johns Hopkins Medicine International- USA and The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto- Canada etc. This will facilitate bringing international quality, affordable and accessible healthcare to the local community as well as the people travelling to Kerala, which is popularly known as 'Gods own Country'.
Offering a wellness-oriented treatment, ASTER Medcity will be recognised as a preferred healthcare destination in Asia, considering the strategic positioning of Kochi -- a major port city on the west coast of India by the Arabian Sea -- to the other parts of the world. The exotic port city, being the financial capital of Kerala and an important centre for both trade and tourism in the state, has an entire web of well-connected air, land and sea routes, and wonderfully aligned with natural beauty and greenery. The Cochin International Airport, one of the best airports in India, provides extremely convenient and hassle-free air connectivity for the people traveling in from the entire globe.
The Press Conference was also attended by Mrs. Alisha Moopen, Director Corporate Strategies- Aster DM Healthcare, Mr. Ala Atari- CEO of Medcare Hospital, and other senior officials of the Group.
Mrs. Alisha Moopen, said, "The new hospitals scheduled to open in the UAE will meet the growing demand for specialised care by providing holistic treatment of international quality standards to the residents, in addition to catering to the medical tourism segment in the UAE. The facilities we are currently setting up as part of our expansion plans are crucial for the benefit and welfare of our patients. With these new and significant additions to our network, we aim to stimulate continuous and systematic improvements in performance and outcome of patient care."
Dr. Moopen's vision of providing healthcare beyond boundaries has seen him take the operations across countries from the UAE, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan in the Middle East to a strong presence across India and Philippines. Aster DM Healthcare is now operational across boundaries, touching the lives of more than 20,000 patients every day and reaching out to more than seven million patients annually. The Group currently employs about 15,000 people across its units.
-Ends-
About Aster DM Healthcare
Aster DM Healthcare is a healthcare group in the Middle East and India. Founded in 1987 by Dr. Azad Moopen, a doctor turned entrepreneur, Aster DM Healthcare is recognized as the largest private healthcare provider in the GCC region, with over 175 network units consisting of hospitals, medical centers, clinics, diagnostic centers and pharmacies, providing primary, secondary, tertiary healthcare, academics & research, management and consultancy services.
Its six brands -- ASTER, Medcare, Access, MIMS, DM WIMS and ASTER MedCity -- are repositories of consumer trust across the GCC and India. The Group touches the lives of over 7 million patients a year, providing care to more than 20,000 patients per day. DM Healthcare provides healthcare of the highest quality in the geographies they operate in.
For further information, please contact:
Mohamed Sohel Rasheed Palliyalil
DM Healthcare Watermelon PR
Dir: +971 4 4546044 Tel: +971 04 2833655
Email: sohel@dmhealthcare.com Email: rasheed@watermelonme.com
© Press Release 2014
