New Saudi hospital turns to county’s healthcare professionals

The Brighton Township drug and alcohol rehabilitation center has signed a letter of intent to manage what will tentatively be called Saudi Care Brighton Hospital outside Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The Livingston County clinic was chosen after an extensive search across the United States, Europe and Asia to help shape the clinic in the Middle East.

The contract will include consulting, management, recruiting, technology expertise and clinical services.

“Brighton Hospital was chosen due to its expertise, high success rate, clinical-care model and 12-step approach,” Mohammed Al-Turaiki, chief executive officer of Saudi Care for Rehabilitation and a rehabilitation specialist, said in a statement.

Brighton Hospital’s letter of intent is to begin a long-term management contract to build a 291,000-square-foot, 250-bed addiction treatment facility. The facility will be intended to serve the entire Islamic Mideast.

The plan includes building five satellite facilities once the new hospital is up and running.

Construction is expected to begin this year.

Denise Bertin-Epp, Brighton Hospital’s president and chief nursing officer, in a prepared statement said the hospital’s specialty electronic recordkeeping system was a plus in winning the contract.

The system has increased efficiency for medical and nursing staff, Bertin-Epp said, and been a aid in treating patients as well as their ongoing recovery.

“At this point we are quite encouraged with this new collaboration. We will visit Saudi Arabia in a few months to make sure it is mutually beneficial,” Bertin-Epp said in her statement.

“This will provide an opportunity to extend our expertise to countries in that region of the world that need addiction care,” she added.

The estimated $60 million hospital will include 230 general inpatient beds, 20 intensive care beds and an emergency department.

Future developments in the region may include regional addiction and mental health and medical clinics following the completion of the central treatment facility outside of Riyadh, officials said.

Over the past decade, the numbers of Saudis and Muslims in the Gulf region addicted to illicit drugs, narcotics and alcohol has tripled, officials said.

Brighton Hospital, part of the St. John Health System, is the second-oldest alcohol and drug treatment center in North America.