Dr. Tom Aretz, right, visits the Alfaisal site during construction.

HMI to collaborate with Alfaisal University on new medical school in Saudi Arabia

Friday, October 12, 2007

HMI has entered into a long-term agreement with Alfaisal University, a newly established institution in Saudi Arabia with plans to launch an academic medical institution with a strong commitment to biomedical research.

HMI is assisting Alfaisal with institutional planning, curriculum design and development, infrastructure and organization development, facilities planning and design, and other components of medical school development. An HMI team including Tom Aretz, MD, Vice President of Global Programs, and architect Lori Matthews, Senior Consultant, have been working with Alfaisal’s leadership to refine the school’s six-year medical curriculum and building designs.

The Riyadh-based university expects to welcome its first medical school class in September 2008. The King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, which is a Joint Commission International-accredited hospital, and the Securities Forces Hospital have agreed to serve as teaching affiliates of the new school. Dr. Khaled Al-Kattan, a thoracic surgeon who heads his specialty at King Faisal, has joined Alfaisal as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Alfaisal University was founded under the auspices of the King Faisal Foundation and will also include schools of business, engineering, and science. Said Aretz, “We hope to engage in cross-fertilization with the other schools being created at Alfaisal, and create models that can benefit the whole university.”