King Saud Medical City (KSMC), also known as Shemaisi Hospital, is a large public district general hospital and

Level 1 Trauma Center A trauma center, or trauma centre, is a hospital equipped and staffed to provide care for patients suffering from major traumatic injuries such as falls, motor vehicle collisions, or gunshot wounds. The term "trauma center" may be used incorrec ...

Riyadh Riyadh is the capital and largest city of Saudi Arabia. It is also the capital of the Riyadh Province and the centre of the Riyadh Governorate. Located on the eastern bank of Wadi Hanifa, the current form of the metropolis largely emerged in th ...

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

. It was founded in 1956 and is one of the largest tertiary care centers in Saudi Arabia, with a total bed capacity of 1,500 including 200 ICU beds. The 102-bed

emergency department An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the Acute (medicine), ...

is the busiest in the country, and the hospital serves as the largest referral center in Saudi Arabia for

Orthopedic surgery Orthopedic surgery or orthopedics ( alternative spelling orthopaedics) is the branch of surgery concerned with conditions involving the musculoskeletal system. Orthopedic surgeons use both surgical and nonsurgical means to treat musculoskeletal ...

Trauma surgery Trauma surgery is a surgical specialty that utilizes both operative and non-operative management to treat traumatic injuries, typically in an acute setting. Trauma surgeons generally complete residency training in general surgery and often f ...

and

Neurosurgery Neurosurgery or neurological surgery, known in common parlance as brain surgery, is the specialty (medicine), medical specialty that focuses on the surgical treatment or rehabilitation of disorders which affect any portion of the nervous system ...

. It is part of the first health cluster in the city of Riyadh, and currently employs 9,200 healthcare personnel. The hospital has a high patient turnover, both outpatient and inpatient, and conducted over 20,000 surgical procedures in 2019 alone. KSMC is also one of the largest medical education, training and research centers in Saudi Arabia, with postgraduate residency and specialist training programs in medicine and surgical subspecialties as well as multiple medical school affiliations. The medical complex itself houses the General Hospital, as well as the Pediatric Hospital, Maternity Hospital, Dental Center and the King Fahad Charity Kidney Center. KSMC's core competencies are Emergency Care, Trauma, Orthopedics, Burn Care, Bariatric Surgery, Dental Care and Critical Care.

History

Founded in 1956, KSMC is the oldest medical city in the Kingdom. It was inaugurated by King Saud bin Abdulaziz as the King Saud Medical Complex, and was at the time a 500-bed facility housing an emergency department and divisions in orthopedics, general surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and a radiology department, along with a laboratory, pharmacy, and immunization department. The original building remains as the general hospital, and newer buildings include the Medical Towers 1 and 2, the Regional Laboratory, and the Academic Tower. The first modern intensive care unit (ICU) in Saudi Arabia was set up in KSMC, and the hospital currently has one of the most highly specialized

intensive care unit An intensive care unit (ICU), also known as an intensive therapy unit or intensive treatment unit (ITU) or critical care unit (CCU), is a special department of a hospital or health care facility that provides intensive care medicine. An inten ...

s in the region. KSMC's ICU is considered one of the largest in the world. In 2010, its name was officially changed from King Saud Medical Complex to King Saud Medical City. In 2020, the hospital launched a digital operating theater incorporating interventional radiology and robotic surgery. In 2025, KSMC was ranked 113th globally in the Brand Finance ranking of the top 250 academic medical centers.

References

{{Authority control 1956 establishments in Saudi Arabia Hospital buildings completed in 1956 Hospitals established in 1956 Buildings and structures in Riyadh Hospitals in Saudi Arabia

History

See also

References