Member Spotlight: Dr. Hazem Al Hinawi
From Aleppo to Cincinnati: A Journey of Medicine, Service, and Commitment to Syria
For Dr. Hazem Al Hinawi, medicine has always been more than a profession. It is a commitment to stand beside people at their most vulnerable—and a way to remain connected to Syria, no matter how far his career has taken him.
Born in Aleppo, Syria, Dr. Al Hinawi graduated from the University of Aleppo in 2003. He later completed his pediatric residency at Michigan State University in Lansing, Michigan, from 2006 to 2009. Over the years, his medical career has taken him across Indiana, Cincinnati, and Florida, where he has developed extensive experience in pediatric medicine, neonatal care, emergency medicine, and acute care.
His professional journey includes five years caring for high-risk deliveries in Indiana, five years working in adult and pediatric urgent care, and eight years practicing pediatric hospital medicine and acute care, combined with neonatal coverage.
Today, Dr. Al Hinawi practices at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. His work focuses on caring for acutely ill children and providing emergency medicine consultations. He also covers emergency department and urgent care shifts at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center.
In Florida, his responsibilities include caring for neonates and acutely ill patients, supporting an outpatient clinic, and performing minor procedures for both pediatric and adult urgent-care patients.
A Life Beyond Medicine
Dr. Al Hinawi is married to Yasmin, a graduate of English literature, and together they are raising their four children: Ghaleb, Omar, Yazan, and Aya.
Outside the hospital, he enjoys basketball, barbecuing, history, and reading scientific articles—especially those related to physics.
A Journey with SAMS That Began in 2011
Dr. Al Hinawi’s relationship with SAMS began soon after the start of the Syrian revolution. At the time, he and a group of fellow residents collected $7,000 to support people in Syria. During a trip between Cincinnati and Chicago, he met the Homsi brothers, who had driven from Indianapolis to meet him and help deliver the funds to Dr. Basel Atassi.
“At that time, none of us knew SAMS,” he recalls. “I told him, ‘I will collect the money, and you have to find a way to deliver it to Syria.’ SAMS became that way—and that is how my journey with the organization began.”
His first SAMS medical mission took place in 2013, after he watched a video of a nurse in Deir ez-Zor appealing for help as many physicians were forced to flee northern Syria because of the war.
Since then, Dr. Al Hinawi has remained deeply engaged in SAMS medical missions, pediatric training programs, and healthcare-strengthening initiatives across Syria and neighboring regions.
Medical Missions and Contributions
In 2013, Dr. Al Hinawi joined a SAMS medical mission to Al-Sukkari Hospital in the then non-government-controlled area of Aleppo, where he provided pediatric emergency care and supported pediatric outpatient clinics.
In 2016, he participated in a mission serving displaced Syrian families living in camps near the Turkish border, providing clinical care and supporting community health needs.
Immediately following the devastating February 2023 earthquake, Dr. Al Hinawi joined one of the first medical missions to the affected region. He provided care through pediatric clinics and the pediatric emergency department at Ibn Al-Nafis Hospital in Idlib and participated in medical visits to hospitals in Qah and Sarmada.
During the 2025 Ramadan mission in Idlib, he delivered educational lectures and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) training courses, helping strengthen the skills of local healthcare professionals responsible for managing critically ill children.
From 2025 through 2026, Dr. Al Hinawi led a project to rehabilitate and strengthen the pediatric department at Aleppo University Hospital, supporting efforts to improve the quality and capacity of pediatric services.
In November 2025, he participated in a mission to pediatric hospitals in Latakia and Tartous, where he provided clinical support and delivered PALS training courses to local medical teams.
In 2026, his service expanded across Deir ez-Zor, Raqqa, Tabqa, and Aleppo. During the mission, he led PALS training programs and worked alongside local teams in pediatric clinics and hospital departments.
That same year, Dr. Al Hinawi helped establish a multidisciplinary pediatric medical team to provide specialized consultations and ongoing clinical support to pediatric intensive care units. This initiative connects professionals from different pediatric specialties to strengthen clinical decision-making and improve the care of critically ill children.
Together, these contributions reflect a sustained commitment that extends beyond short-term missions. Through clinical service, professional training, departmental development, and multidisciplinary collaboration, Dr. Al Hinawi continues to help build stronger and more sustainable pediatric healthcare services in Syria.
What Does SAMS Mean to Him?
To Dr. Al Hinawi, SAMS represents far more than an organization. He describes it as a central source of support for the health system in communities affected by the Syrian conflict—first serving as a vital lifeline for healthcare in areas outside government control during the revolution and today continuing to contribute to the recovery and development of Syria’s health sector.
His story reflects the spirit at the heart of SAMS: physicians whose connection to Syria is expressed not only through memory, but through action, service, and a lasting commitment to saving lives.
