Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital:Celebrating 30 years of care and innovation

In the evolving landscape of global healthcare, where an expanding population and increasing life expectancy create new challenges each year, the Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital in Saudi Arabia stands as a testament to sustainable excellence in medical care.

For three decades, this institution has been at the forefront of addressing Saudi Arabia’s most pressing healthcare needs, from managing the rising incidence of lifestyle-related diseases to pioneering advanced medical treatments previously unavailable in the region.

Through its commitment to cutting-edge technology, continuous medical education, and patient-centered care, the Hospital – which bears the name of its founder, the late Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel – has changed countless lives, serving as a cornerstone of the country’s rehabilitative healthcare infrastructure.

More than 125,000 people have passed through its doors since the hospital’s inception in December 1994, many having their lives transformed by the cutting-edge technologies and personalized care within its walls.

In that time the hospital has become the leading provider of medical rehabilitation services throughout Saudi Arabia.  Its interdisciplinary team of professionals are devoted to reintegrating the incapacitated back into their homes and communities, whatever challenges are faced by the patient.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital was established by the late Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel (1909–1993), founder of the diverse international network of businesses which still bears his name, and will celebrate its 80^th anniversary in 2025.  After a lifetime of business leadership and philanthropy, Sheikh Jameel suffered a serious stroke which robbed him of much of his mobility.  Unable to find high-quality, accessible treatment services close to home, he travelled as far as Europe to seek out the world’s best rehabilitation support in the UK, Germany and Switzerland.  However, he was well aware that not everyone confronting illness or injury was in a similarly fortunate position.  A situation he resolved to rectify.

Today’s Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital was the ultimate outcome – a modern healthcare hub and pioneering multidisciplinary hospital, offering physical and psychological rehabilitation from spinal injuries, strokes, paraplegia and other debilitating conditions.

The hospital forms part of Community Jameel Saudi Arabia, the long established family philanthropy of Abdul Latif Jameel in Saudi Arabia, which is dedicated to maintaining a healthier, safer, more equitable and productive society through on-the-ground interventions

Personal experiences inspired healthcare revolution

The journey from that initial idea to the state-of-the-art healthcare facility that exists today has been both rapid and inspiring.  It began around 1990 on his return from Europe, as a desire to find a communal place where the recovering Sheikh Jameel and other people in similar situations could access healthy activities to restore their wellbeing.  Discovering no suitable such facility existed, he drew on the energy and drive which had propelled him throughout his business career to establish one of his own.

Significantly, this flagship of recuperation would serve not just Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel and those closest to him.  Instead, he envisioned a high-quality rehabilitation facility that prioritized accessibility – in other words, a not operated for profit hospital promising ready access to healthcare for all citizens, regardless of income.[1]

Himself a man of humble origins, Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel readily empathized with the plight of working families.  “Every person has duties towards his country and has to make helping his brothers a main objective,” he said in a 1981 interview. 

That statement provided a glimpse of his progressive worldview – that the purpose of life surpassed personal fulfilment, instead encompassing a wider responsibility for addressing the needs of the many and improving prospects for all.

Intent on his goal, in 1992 he personally began recruiting a medical and care team for what he then envisaged as a home for the elderly.  His original plans for the building included lush, landscaped areas to encourage mental as well as physical rejuvenation among patients.

Although he would not live to see his dream turn into a reality, passing away in 1993, the Sheikh’s family – who are still involved in the Abdul Latif Jameel businesses, philanthropies, and the Hospital, to this day – were determined to deliver his legacy.  They achieved this not only by completing his project of a home for the elderly, but by expanding it into Saudi Arabia’s first privately run state-of-the-art rehabilitation hospital.

The Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital was officially opened and inaugurated under the stewardship of Prince Majid bin Abdul Aziz in 1997.  It proved to be only the beginning.  As the medical needs of inpatients grew, the hospital expanded organically, one clinic at a time, tackling an ever-lengthening list of medical ailments. 

Over the following decade the Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital evolved into a renowned center of healthcare excellence, helping people from all backgrounds secure the treatment they needed to accelerate their healing journeys and maximize their life opportunities.

The hospital now occupies a 43,000 square meter site, including eight wings with a total capacity of more than 100 beds, plus additional facilities for outpatient clinics.  Since its founding, it has delivered more than 1.2 million therapy sessions over millions of nursing hours and fitted thousands of prosthetic limbs to those most in need.

The hospital is validated by the Saudi Central Board for Accreditation of Healthcare Institutions (CBAHI), CARF International, and the Joint Commission International (JCI).  Its work dovetails with both the Health Sector Transformation Program of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 strategy, as well as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 3) to ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all ages.

Throughout the Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital, the founder’s ethos is realized through a combination of high-level care and next generation technology.

Patient-centered care and cutting-edge technology

Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital now provides a sophisticated array of services for diverse conditions: Pediatrics to psychiatry, dentistry to dermatology, orthopedics to ophthalmology, cardiology to conditions of the ear, nose and throat, as well as cosmetic medicine, urology and vascular care.

Rehabilitation services form the centerpiece of the medical treatments on offer and span a range of afflictions, from life-limiting conditions such as spinal damage, multiple sclerosis and strokes, to genetic conditions such as cerebral palsy.

Specialist physiotherapy is critical in restoring movement and independence to patients recovering from trauma.  Ambitious treatment programs, tailored to the individual, include decompression therapy, nerve stimulation, hydrotherapy, dry needling and lymphatic drainage – all designed to promote better mobility and fine motor function.  Speech and language therapies help reequip patients with the liberating power of communication.

In addition, the hospital has gained particular recognition for its pioneering approach to leveraging innovative technologies in pursuit of advanced rehabilitation.

Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital was the first to introduce cutting edge Hybrid Assistive Limb^® (HAL) technology to Saudi Arabia, a cyborg-inspired exoskeleton designed to support and improve the wearer’s physical functions.  The HAL system allows patients to exert more motor energy than usual during movement therapy, hastening the development of cerebral nerves.

Upon launch, Saudi Arabia became just the fifth country in the world to make this futuristic technology – developed by Japanese company Cyberdyne – available to patients with traumatic spinal injuries. 

Now the Hospital has become a training hub for Cyberdyne technology throughout the GCC region, teaching doctors, therapists and technicians at other medic al facilities in how to successfully deploy the equipment.

The human body is a complex organism, and as such the hospital’s remit extends far beyond helping people walk again.  A suite of additional therapies offers relief across the health spectrum.

• In respiratory therapeutics, clinicians treat breathing-related difficulties in people living with conditions such as asthma, cancer or cystic fibrosis, by administering drugs, giving oxygen and managing ventilators.
• Occupational therapists help patients experiencing physical, sensory or cognitive problems regain their independence, through everyday skills such as dressing and showering, using a wheelchair, or relearning to drive.
• Psychological and behavioral therapists work alongside patients with autism and other frequently overlooked conditions of the mind to promote better mental health.
• Taking a holistic view of wellbeing, Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital also helps patients develop a healthier relationship with food.  Its dietary services team works with patients to develop nutritious and sustainable habits while meeting their individual health goals, and emphasizing the importance of daily exercise.

Through its commitment to personalized care and innovation, the hospital is helping to raise global standards in patient-centric healthcare.

‘Serving others’, now and into the future

Throughout its 30-year journey, Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital’s core mission has remained the same: Providing the highest-quality accessible care to patients living with disability or illness, while simultaneously promoting medical education to foster further innovation throughout the health sector.

Daily, it embodies the huge efforts made by parent organization Abdul Latif Jameel to improve living standards in Saudi Arabia and elevate the nation’s profile on the world stage. 

Marking the hospital’s 30th anniversary in December 2024, the professionals entrusted with writing the next chapter in the facility’s illustrious history reaffirmed their desire to make profound advances in the field of medical rehabilitation. In doing so, they are taking their inspiration from the vision of the last Sheikh Abdul Latif Jameel.

“Some people think their lives are made for them only,” the Sheikh observed in his 1981 interview in the Saudi Arabian newspaper ‘Okaz’.  “They do not know that serving others is a huge, good deed.”

Those foundational values, prioritizing quality of life, caring for others and accessibility, permeate the DNA of the hospital.  Its appetite for groundbreaking collaborations promises enhanced patient care and sustained technological progress. 

This approach is aligned with and supports the Saudi Arabian Vision 2030, ‘vision realization program’ of health sector transformation to meet the need of every member of society.

Mr. Alaa Hamza, Vice Chairman, Board of Directors, Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital, reflects: 

“For three decades, Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital has been more than just a medical facility.  

It has been a beacon of hope for patients who dream of living their lives to the full once more.  We look forward to seeing it continue that mission long into the future.”

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[1] Although not formally constituted as a charitable non-profit under the relevant laws of Saudi Arabia, the Abdul Latif Jameel Hospital operates on a low fee not for profit basis, all monies are reinvested into the hospital itself.