Dr. Mohamad Hakim celebrating his new position at La Pita, Dearborn

DEARBORN – Paving the way for
professional Arab Americans, Dr. Mohamad Hakim, who was recently appointed the
vice chief of staff at the Beaumont hospital in Dearborn, said he hopes his
election inspires others to become more involved in organizational and
political decision making.

“I hope that more Arab Americans
will run for official positions in their fields and be part of the Arab American
dream,” he said.

More than two-thirds of the
hospital’s physicians voted Hakim, a general surgeon and vice chief of surgery
at Beaumont, into the three-year term, making him the first Arab American to
hold the position.

This puts Hakim in the second-highest
position among the hospital staff, in charge of about 400 employees.

“The support was amazing,” he said.

His roles include upholding the
hospital’s quality and being a liaison between Beaumont’s corporate
organization and its medical personnel.

Hakim said he never set out to take
on the responsibility, but gradually became involved in hospital politics as he
aimed to draw in resources to improve the quality of treatment.

“I’m going to be the voice for
the physicians,” Hakim said. “I want to make sure this hospital becomes one of
the best hospitals in the nation.”

He said his toughest challenges will
be balancing the needs of the corporate and medical departments, like investing
to expand the current facility and adding private rooms for patients.

As Beaumont serves a city with the
highest concentration of Arab Americans in the country, it is significant that
a hospital executive is able to adequately represent the community and be
hyper-cognizant of its patients’ special needs.

Hakim said one of his key objectives
will be to strengthen the relationships among the hospital, its physicians and
members of the community.

“This
is our hospital, our home and where our kids were born,” Hakim said.