(From left to right) Sidra Medicine Dr Hesham Al-Saloos, CHLA Center for Global Health executive director Yadira Torres, CHLA president and chief operating officer Lara Khouri, Sidra Medicine CEO Dr Iyabo Tinubu-Karch, Sidra Medicine Dr Gehan Aly and Dr Olivier Ghez. Credit: Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Sidra Medicine, a healthcare provider serving women and children in Qatar and the Middle East, to benefit patient care, research and education.

The collaboration aims to bolster shared advisory support, best practices, patient care initiatives, and training across multiple specialities and is expected to see involvement from a range of medical specialities within each participating healthcare organisation.

CHLA president and chief operating officer Lara Khouri said: “Each year, CHLA provides care and treatments for children from all 50 US states and more than 90 countries worldwide.

“Our mission is to create hope and build healthier futures for children everywhere, and this collaboration will enable CHLA to extend its scientific and clinical expertise to Sidra Medicine, covering areas of mutual interest and growth.”

The collaboration originated within Sidra Medicine’s cardiology department and is set to create a joint patient care, education, and clinical research programme.

This will connect Sidra Medicine’s Heart Center with CHLA’s Heart Institute, fostering knowledge transfer, education and clinical expertise in various medical specialities and procedures.

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As part of the patient care programme, CHLA and Sidra Medicine will coordinate the transfer and treatment of paediatric patients suffering from complex cardiac conditions.

Children in Qatar needing advanced surgeries will have access to CHLA’s facilities. Patients from the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can continue their post-operative and long-term care at Sidra Medicine.

CHLA, with over 8,000 team members and more than 1,000 paediatric specialist physicians, conducts over 16,000 surgeries and nearly 750,000 patient visits annually.

Sidra Medicine is a 400-bed academic healthcare and research institution.

In January 2024, Accarent Health, a US-based health consultant, collaborated with CHLA to launch virtual second opinion services in oncology, cardiology, and musculoskeletal specialities.