RIYADH – DaVita Inc., a leading provider in kidney care services in the US and internationally, has announced a training program designed to further strengthen the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s health care system, in line with the country’s 2030 Vision.

In partnership with the Ministry of Health, DaVita has implemented a ground-breaking hemodialysis training course for Saudi graduate nurses, aimed at nurturing the country’s next generation of caregivers.

The 16-week course is for Saudi graduate nurses with no or little previous dialysis experience, and combines classroom and clinic based learning.

DaVita Saudi Arabia Chief Medical Officer Dr Kareem Abdul Alsuwaida said the program was a concerted effort to increase Saudization of the country’s healthcare system.

“The DaVita Nursing Foundation Course represents best practice in developing local Saudi talent to play a large role in the Kingdom’s push towards world class health care and increased Saudization in the workforce,” Dr Alsuwaida said.

“Our first intake includes nurses from Jeddah, Samta and Dammam, who will all have their first clinical placement in King Abdul Aziz Hospital and East Jeddah.

“Following their classroom modules and clinical placements, the nurses will graduate the program and take up junior staff nursing positions within DaVita.”

DaVita clinics for renal dialysis have succeeded, until now, in the provision of high quality services for renal diseases patients through 20 clinics in different areas at the kingdom. This success comes as a fruit of the partnership between the Saudi Ministry of Health and DaVita, which aim to provide the best level of kidney care and pathological experiences. DaVita continues to improve the output of its clinics to achieve high rates of patient’s satisfaction under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Health. — SG