Why do we need checkpoints?

From a report via the Emek Mediical Center

This morning, 19 year old newly enlisted IDF soldier Eden Atias boarded a bus heading to Afula from neighboring Nazareth.  Sitting next to him was 16 year old Hussein Jawadra, a Palestinian who had illegally entered Israel from nearby Jenin.  In the next moments, by the time the bus had entered Afula’s central bus station, the young Israeli lay mortally wounded after being stabbed in the neck in an unprovoked vicious attack by the Palestinian teenager. 

Eden died in Emek Medical Center before we could save his young life.  The young terrorist is currently being treated in another Israeli hospital after being injured during his apprehension. 

Another horrific example of life and death in the Valley of Armageddon, where Israel – committed to the sanctity of life - offers medical aid even to an enemy.  Even to a politically motivated deranged murderer. 

We stand proud as Israelis, while we share bitter tears with the Atias family and our people. 

And  many are still asking why we need the checkpoints!!      

Medical Supplies in Gaza

Operation Pillar of Defense


Information Overview: Medical Supplies in Gaza

Background Overview:

The long standing shortage of medicines and medical supplies in Gaza stems primarily from a dysfunctional relationship between the Palestinian Ministries of Health in Gaza and Ramallah. The conflicts between the two offices have resulted not only in a shortage of medicines and supplies, but also in restricted access to medical treatments for patients outside of Gaza.

The Coordination and Liaison Administration to Gaza:

1. The CLA works to ensure that patients from Gaza have the access they need to get medical treatments.

2. Of the thousands of patients that requested permits to enter Israel for medical treatments, 99.3% were approved. Patients were only denied permits when it was determined that they could receive necessary treatment inside Gaza (Sept 2012).

3. From January to October 2012, more than 14,500 permits were issued by the Gaza CLA for patients and their chaperones to leave Gaza through the Erez Crossing.

4. All the requests for medical supplies (equipment and medicine) submitted by the international community to the Gaza CLA have been approved for entry into Gaza.

5. On average medical supply requests (medicines and light equipment) are approved within a span of 24-72 hours. Coordination of approved medical supplies is completed within one working day after the organization submits the intended day of import.

6. Since September 2012, international organizations, in coordination with the Gaza CLA, have impoted 32 trucks of drugs and medical supplies through Kerem Shalom Crossing. This has included spare parts for dialysis machines, helium for MRI machines, and three fully equipped ambulances. An additional five loads of medicine were imported into Gaza through the Erez Crossing through special coordination.

Shortages and Restricted Access:

1. The restricted medical supplies in Gaza are marked by a shortage of 400-500 varieties of medical equipment (out of a defined 700), including a shortage of surgical and anesthetic equipment.

2. There is an average shortage of 33% of desired types of drugs at any given time.

3. According to the World Health Organization, the process of referrals for patients from Gaza to receive treatment in Israel, the West Bank, and Jordan was suspended for nearly 10 days due to disagreements between the Ramallah and Gaza Health Ministries. As a result, a 38% reduction in monthly referrals left several hundred patients without necessary treatment.

4. The WHO reports that due to the failure of the Palestinian Ministry of Health to pay its accruing debts to Jordan, Jordanian hospitals refused to accept government referrals of patients from Gaza.

5. Medical suppliers are often reluctant to sell supplies to Gaza since there are issues with non-payment.

Operation Pillar of Defense:

1. Gaza hospitals are reported to be at 80% capacity, only slightly higher than intake then during routine periods.

2. On November 17th, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories updated Hassin el Alshich that, despite the problematic security situation and the ongoing rocket fire, it would be possible to transfer medical supplies into Gaza.

3. Tomorrow morning, 18 November 2012, 10 Red Cross trucks with medical supplies and one UNRWA truck are scheduled to enter Gaza via Kerem Shalom Crossing. Two trucks have been designated as being of particular importance as they are carrying much needed anesthetics and bandages.

4. Since the start of the operation there have been two reported incidents of light damage to medical facilities due to shocks from Israeli air strikes on terrorist infrastructure in the vicinity.

a. Light damage to windows and doors of the Al-Quds hospital and the nearby Palestinian Red Crescent station in the Gaza district. Two Al Quds workers also sustained light injuries.

b. Light damage to windows in the Al-Karma hospital in the Jabaliya District.

Baby Born 600 grams Survives in Israeli Hospital

A baby born weighing only 600 grams in the 23rd week of pregnancy and whose two siblings died due to their prematurity was sent home this week weighing a hearty 2.24 kg. – four months after his birth, reports the Jerusalem Post http://www.jpost.com/Health/Article.aspx?id=247379.

The baby, Jazen Jamal, was born to a Druse couple, Hend and Haiel, at Western Galilee Government Hospital in Nahariya. The childless couple, who live in Kafr Yarka, had undergone fertility treatments, but the triplet fetuses were very small.

Even though Hend was hospitalized in the high-risk pregnancy unit for a month, the fetuses refused to remain in the womb much longer. A boy and a girl died at 23 weeks of pregnancy, leaving just one of the triplets.Jazen struggled to survive in the premature baby intensive care unit, where Dr. Vered Fleischer-Sheffer was a member of the team that took care of the baby.“Twenty-three weeks is the recognized border between life and death for [premature babies] because the lungs, brain and digestive system are not ripe. It is rare indeed for a baby who is one of a multiple pregnancy to survive when born at that stage,” she said. The chances for survival for a baby born at 23 weeks is only 7 percent, she added.“It was a real miracle,” said the happy father. “I am shaking from excitement.

The baby survived severe infections and diseases, and all this at a very low birthweight and age.” Incredibly, the baby apparently does not suffer from any disability.“We go home with joy and tears combined,” the couple said, “because we are bringing the baby home but without his two siblings. We want to thank the doctors and nurses for the holy work they do.”Hospital director Dr. Masad Barhoum said that keeping the baby alive and healthy was an “impressive achievement; I am proud of the professional medical staff that took care of him from the moment he was born.”

Chemiotherapy versus Grad Missiles

This from a friend of mine at working at a local hospital

No doubt, you have heard the news reports that Palestinian terrorists in Gaza are once again firing short and long range missiles into Israeli cities. Totally unprovoked.

Yesterday, I happened to be visiting friends in the southern city of Ashdod and we were enjoying a quiet afternoon meal in their home when the air raid sirens began their ominous shrill. Immediately, twelve of us huddled into their bomb shelter that doubles as a walk-in cabinet and we waited in absolute silence (as Israelis do) to hear “the boom”. Hear it we did as a long-range grad missile landed not terribly far away. It was time to head back home to the north.

During that drive, we listened intently to the news while additional barrages of grads were launched against Israeli civilian population centers.

Today in the hospital, I was leading a group of visitors from England on a tour of our School for Hospitalized Children. I introduced the group to Arrif and his fifteen year old son, Mohammed. They come from Gaza. They have been ‘living’ in Emek for ten months as young Mohammed is being treated for severe facial cancer. Arrif speaks fluent Hebrew and I conducted a simultaneously translated Q&A session between him and the British visitors …

Q. How do you feel here, among the Jews of Israel?
A. Perfectly normal and at ease. Grateful – so very grateful.

Q. What does your family back in Gaza say about Mohammed’s treatment here?
A. They are amazed and they send their sincere gratitude. They cannot believe what has and is being done for Mohammed and me.

Q. Do you know that missiles are again being fired from Gaza into Israeli cities?
A. Yes. I am ashamed. The politicians and extremists are not “the people”. We only want to live a normal life alongside you.

Many ask, considering the asymmetrical vortex we are caught in … why do you help ‘them’? The answer is simple – because that is who we are.

It’s chemo vs grads. You decide what and who is the problem.

"One of the Biggest Israeli Exports will be Medical Clowning"

The International Conference on Medicine and Medical Clowning is currently taking place in Jerusalem.

The goal of the conference, organized by Dream Doctors, is to attempt to touch upon major issues involved in the process of forming clear professional definitions of Medical Clowning from viewpoints of different groups and people all over the world. The conference comprises various workshops on clowning and the use of medical clowning as a unique means of intervention.

“I’m learning that we are definitely a part of a very big, global community,” Wellington Santos, a medical clown from Brazil, told Arutz Sheva. “It’s very important that we all cooperate to take this to the next step.”

Paul Miller, AKA Pauly the Clown who works at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, said that despite his hospital being in third place as far as pediatric institutions are concerned, it only has a few medical clowns who work a few hours a week. He noted he was surprised to see how big and important Medical Clowning is in Israel.
“I think medical clowns will be one of the biggest Israeli exports,” he said. “It’s amazing.”

Hagar Hofesh, a medical clown with Dream Doctors, said that in Israel, the clowns work very closely with doctors and nurses, something which is not the case in other parts of the world. She added that she believes that other places in the world could learn from Israel when it comes to this field.

“There are parts of the world where the experiences are the same as in Israel, but we also heard some clowns say that when the doctor comes into the room, they leave, or that they would not participate in certain procedures,” she added.

“Today, I actually got to scrub in and escort kids to the operating theater,” Miller said. “And we don’t do that in the United States, so it was fascinating.”

View From a Hospital in Northern Israel

I received the letter below from a friend at a hospital in the north of Israel and I think his views represent a majority of opinions in this country.

I, therefore decided to publish it as received.

When faced with difficult situations / problems, people have a tendency to sometimes look for solutions in the wrong place. This is usually a result of …
• Ignorance
• Being exposed to inaccurate information
• Having been brainwashed
• An inability to understand the facts
• Predetermination to a particular mindset or point of view
• Dogmatic stubbornness
• Being intentionally misinformed (lied to)

So, what does this have to do with Emek Medical Center? First, as a major medical center, our physicians and professional staff are faced with difficult and often life or death situations / decisions every day. Fortunately for our patients, their assessments are based upon years of hard-earned knowledge, shared experiences, consultations and an ability to listen. Emek is located is one of the most volatile regions on earth and our life-saving abilities are often called upon as a result of actions by people who have nothing in common with our values or way of life.

Politicians and theologians are often the catalytic forces behind crazed extremists and Emek’s multi-ethnic staff is often called upon to treat and save the multi-ethnic victims of such radicalism. Emek is a part of Israel and represents all that is sensible between people, however, many in this world blame Israel for the turmoil and conflict that destroys bodies and lives. Enough is enough!

Israel is not the problem.
Jews are not the problem.
This conflict has never been about land or settlers or farms or cities.

The real problem is blind theocratic hatred, fascist intolerance and a vile lust for political power that brings with it staggering amounts of unearned wealth (attained through taxation and gifts to “rulers” by well meaning countries who hope that their gifts will improve the lives of foreign populations). All too often those funds never reach their intended targets and end up lining the greedy pockets of immoral power grabbing gun-wielding despots.

Examples of sanity may be found at eye level, if that is what you seek. Emek is a central player in the Jewish/Arab Middle East saga because here everyone meets everyone and here Jews, Muslims, Christians and Druze treat one another and heal together. Emek is an apolitical, often surreal Israeli phenomenon that doesn’t fit any established Middle Eastern mold. It’s simply a place where people care for one another and share a common value … life.

Emek exists in and is a thriving part of Israel. No such institution exists in any other Middle Eastern country.

Emek is a wonderful example of humanitarian sanity; however it is not the solution to the infectious hatred running rampant throughout the Middle East. And Israel is not the problem.

Rambam Hospital Does It Again - Put On A Happy Face

By participating in a voluntary medical delegation to India, two Rambam doctors put broad smiles on the faces of more than 200 patients with congenital facial defects.

Sponsored by the organization Operation Smile, the delegation provided corrective surgery to people of different ages who had been born with cleft lip or cleft palate.

The operations relieved patients of both physical limitations and social stigma.

At the end of December Dr Itzhak Ramon, a senior physician in the Department of Plastic Surgery and Dr Zach Sharony, who is completing his specialization in plastic surgery, returned from a medical mission to Assam in northeast India. Their delegation was sponsored by the international charity organization, Operation Smile, which is devoted to correcting congenital facial defects, like cleft lip and cleft palate, in places where medical help is limited.

For ten days, more than 50 medical personnel from around the world treated more than 200 patients ranging in age from six months to the mid-forties. The multi-disciplinary team included plastic surgeons, dentists, anesthesiologists, pediatricians, nurses, and speech therapists.

According to Dr Ramon, this was a mission in the truest sense of the word. “These operations improve the health and quality of life for many patients who would otherwise be unable to attain or pay for such treatment,” he says.

Likewise, the team benefits from a sense of great satisfaction, and from coping with unusual medical situations. “I learned a great deal in India – all the doctors share their knowledge and everyone learns from everyone else,” says the plastic surgeon.Dr Ramon first went on an Operation Smile mission in the Philippines over 10 years ago. “The experiences I had there as a young surgeon are still very much alive for me,” says Dr Ramon. “This time I was able to participate as an experienced doctor.”Upon their arrival to India, the Rambam doctors met their colleagues and set out together for the city of Guwahati in Assam. “When we arrived at the local hospital, hundreds of people were already waiting,” recalls Dr Ramon. “There are not enough surgeons or resources there to perform these operations, so Operation Smile decided to send four medical missions there yearly,” says Dr Ramon.

Working in 10 operation rooms simultaneously, the team operated daily on five patients in each room. “You derive immediate reward from performing these operations,” says Dr Ramon. “Already at the end of the procedure, patients can see results and their smiles give us tremendous motivation.”Dr Ramon is glad to report that congenital facial defects are rare in Israel, and when children with such deformities are born here, surgery is usually performed during their first year of life. “In many countries, these deformities are very widespread. Due to lack of resources, people are forced to live with them all their lives,” he says. A trip to India is always a transformative experience, and Dr Ramon also returned with a fresh perspective: “Treating these patients allows the doctor to see everyday reality differently. I was delighted to be able to help, but above all, I felt proud of our own health system, which provides proper treatment to everyone who needs it.”

First Israeli Arab Woman Becomes a Plastic Surgeon

Another first for the Rambam hospital in Haifa - click on the title to link to a video of this story

For Dr. Rania Elkhatib, the first Israeli Arab woman to become a plastic surgeon in Israel, the job at Rambam Medical Center is a chance to be an emissary for her community.

The first Israeli Arab woman to become a plastic surgeon, Dr Rania Elkhatib works at the Rambam Medical Center, the largest hospital in northern Israel.

After studying medicine at the Technion -- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa and then specializing in general surgery, the 28-year-old doctor decided to focus on plastic surgery: "... It was important to me because in our community plastic surgery isn't very advanced and it's not well accepted so I feel a bit like an emissary for my community, to go into this field and take it forward," she says.

Situated in Haifa, Rambam is the referral center for 11 district hospitals. Its plastic surgeons treat a number of conditions, ranging from burns, war injuries and cleft palates to breast and facial reconstruction for cancer patients.

Thirty percent of doctors at Rambam are women, and the representation of Arab physicians is proportionate to the numbers in the population in the north.

While the hospital is committed to providing equal opportunities, Prof. Yehuda Ullmann, head of the plastic surgery department, stresses that doctors are chosen purely on merit: "Plastic surgery residency is the most wanted residency in medicine not just in Israel but all over the world, and she was elected not because she's Arab, not because she's a woman, because she is Dr. Elkhatib and she is good and she is a very good doctor over here so we are lucky to have her here."

The Alternate National Service

Not everyone is army material in general wherever one lives. Israel is no exception. For different reasons, perhaps of politics or health, some young Israelis cannot, or do not wish, to serve in the military. Through Sherut Leumi (National Service), these people can still contribute. Today, more than 200 such volunteers perform important duties at the Rambam hospital in Haifa– 30 of them are Muslim & Christian Arabs

Visitors to Rambam are politely assisted by a soft-spoken young man with an easy smile. They have no idea of the long path that led Nizar Elkoury, 18, to volunteer at this hospital information desk, giving directions in perfect Hebrew.

Nizar was born in Lebanon. His father was a member of the South Lebanon Army (SLA), a Christian, Israeli-backed militia that fought the Hezbollah. When Israel withdrew from Lebanon in 2000, it granted asylum to the militiamen and their families. Given full citizenship and financial help, close to 1,000 of these families settled in Israel.

The Elkoury family has lived in Haifa since Nazir was eight. He has gone to Israeli schools, and says he has always been accepted and had friends. Hebrew posed no problem for Nazir, who mastered the language in three months. For his adopted country, Nazir expresses only gratitude, “I felt I had to do something for Israel,” he says. “I wanted to give back for the great favor we received.”

Nazir is one of 30 Sherut Leumi (National Service) minority volunteers at Rambam. Sherut Leumi offers 18-21 year olds who cannot or do not wish to serve in the army, an alternative to military service. Volunteers engage in dozens of “helping” projects. Although largely young Jewish women from religious backgrounds, Sherut Leumi volunteers also include men, and minority members. According to Rambam’s Director of Sherut Leumi, Shlomit Katzir, all qualified and motivated volunteers are welcome.

Lubna Kadry, 18, from the Arab Galilean village Nahaf also volunteers at Rambam through Sherut Leumi. Working for the children’s safety organization B’Terem, Lubna teaches children hospitalized at Rambam and their parents about safety in the home. “We work to turn homes into safe havens,” says Lubna.

According to Lubna, a disproportionate number of children from the Arab sector are injured in local and household accidents. “Homes and villages are often not safe, and parents are frequently not aware enough about these matters,” says Lubna, who says she is pleased to be helping her people in this way.

As with most volunteers, Lubna and Nazir feel they receive more than they give. “This position gives me skills for real life,” comments Lubna, who plans to be a doctor. Likewise, Nazir, who wants to be a nurse, appreciates the opportunity to view the world of medicine up close. At any rate, adds Nazir, “I believe that all of us should be connected not only to ourselves, but to our community at large.”

180,000 Palestinians Treated in Israeli Hospitals This Year

Thanks to efficient cooperation between the Israeli and the Palestinian sides, tens of thousands of Palestinians patients benefit from treatments in Israeli hospitals each year Humanitarian dilemmas are a recurring issue in the Judea and Samaria region. A terrorist fires at IDF soldiers, is shot and gets wounded. Is an IDF medic to be called to treat him? A building is about to collapse in the heart of Ramallah. Does the IDF enter? Does it jeopardize its soldiers’ lives, or does it call the International Red Cross and risk losing precious time?

To Israel, the answer to these questions is clear. According to its Division Medical Officer “The treatment of the Palestinian population is first and foremost a moral and professional obligation for every one of us. Do we treat them? There is no question about it. But what happens in the long run and how? Where do international organizations fit in? How will an independent Palestinian medical body be established and how does coordination between bodies happen in life? These are the real questions.”

“Up until September 2000, a Ramallah resident could have taken his car and driven to a hospital in Israel, but from September 2000 there has been a state of terror. Hundreds were killed, Jews and Palestinians alike. The battles took place in the heart of the cities, in places where enemies stood side by side with civilians, with difficult conditions and limited ability to evacuate. It was not possible to practice medicine beyond the minimum. In those days, the situation was on the verge of a humanitarian crisis.”

But today, he says, the situation is different. Thanks to many efforts on both sides, stability has been restored. “The political leadership is able to make decisions not in the context of buses exploding. And now, along with direct military activity – patrolling, arrests, crossings – a new kind of routine has started. Medicine is an integral part of it. In today’s reality, it is an obligation to do a lot more than the minimum. The addressing of the situation should be as wide ranging as possible,”

“The Palestinian security system is composed of two centers: that of the Palestinian government and that of international organizations. It is unclear whether it could function if it was based on just one. In the sector, 25 hospitals from the Health Ministry and 30 hospitals from various organizations are operated. Along with patients treated in these hospitals, there are many people who can only be treated in hospitals outside the sector, starting with those located in East Jerusalem.”

The major challenge for medical service is accessibility.. As the Division Commander said, the days when one could drive freely to an Israeli hospital are over. “We face difficulties in transferring patients, personnel and medical equipment. In too many cases moving freely is not possible. But despite these difficulties, there are also many successes.” He cites as an example of patients coming from Gaza, treated in Jerusalem sometimes over a period of three to four months. They receive a special permit from the director allowing them to stay in Israel so they won’t have to go back and forth and are housed in a special hotel in the Mount of Olives. “All these things are ultimately coordinated by the Israeli Civil Administration.”

The medical coordinator of the Civil Adminstration. is the link to everyone who deals with medicine in the territories. In today’s lectures, her name has been mentioned repeatedly, always with respect. In an interview she says pleasantly, “A bond of mutual trust has been created between us. I always tell them the truth. When the Palestinians don’t do what they’re required, I don’t ignore their behavior; but with that, I will always listen. I hear them. I understand their problems.”

The work is twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. There will always be medical incidents. Health is not something one can impose a curfew on or demand to freeze. “I am available around the clock. Even on Shabbat, even at 3 a.m. if needed. There is a constant contact between me and the doctors on both sides, the ambulance drivers and the patients themselves.”

And, unbelievable though it may sound, because of desire and will, it is working. Last year, 180,000 Palestinian citizens entered Israel to receive treatment. 3,000 emergency patients were transferred from Israeli to Palestinian ambulances using the “back to back” method, without warning. “Ultimately,” said the coordinator, “this is a rewarding experience. There is frustration, of course there is. But on the other hand, there are people who see me on the street or in hospitals, hear my name and say ‘You saved my son’s life’. When you get home in the end of the day and examine your life, you know that you saved lives. You know you did a lot of good.”

THE WORLD’S LARGEST UNDERGROUND HOSPITAL

Seven thousand cubic meters of concrete were poured this week to form the base of the world’s largest underground hospital. For 36 hours running, shifts of 70 workers and 80 cement mixers worked to lay the foundation of the emergency facility, which is designed to withstand conventional, chemical, and biological attacks

The night of Saturday October 9, 2010 marked the start of a crucial phase of construction at the Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Israel. More than 70 workers at the site began to pour roughly 7,000 cubic meters of concrete, which will form the concrete base of Rambam’s protected emergency underground hospital – the largest facility of its type in the world – and underground parking lot. The pouring, which continued for more than 36 hours straight, involved 80 cement mixers that completed 1,000 rounds of mixing. To meet the deadline, four Haifa area concrete plants supplied materials around the clock.

According to Rambam Department of Engineering Director Aryeh Berkovitz, for two days following this effort, no concrete was poured in central to northern Israel. This is due to the fact that all related facilities, tools and personnel in the region were involved in the huge Rambam project.

RHCC Director Prof. Rafi Beyar commented, “This is a historic moment, not only for Rambam, but for the entire State of Israel. For a period of two years, we have coped with unexpected, difficult and weighty logistic problems regarding this construction. We overcame the obstacles, and with the help of our friends – donors and Ministry of Health officials – we are on the right path.”
This project is slated for completion by May 2012, at which time the three-floor parking lot will provide much-needed parking space for some 1,500 Rambam workers and visitors. In times of emergency, the lot can be transformed at short notice into a 2,000-bed hospital that is secure from conventional, chemical and biological weapons.
Not only underground, the emergency hospital will also sit eight meters below sea level. Designed to be self-sufficient, the hospital will be able to generate its own power and can store enough oxygen, drinking water and medical supplies for up to three days. Due to its special location, the facility’s construction has demanded unusual measures. Pumps have operated throughout construction – and will continue to the project’s end – 24 hours a day, moving millions of cubic meters of brackish groundwater to the sea, enabling the workers to carry out their mission.

The next major step in the Rambam complex construction – the concrete pouring for the foundation of the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital – will begin on October 30, 2010. After that, work will begin on the new oncology and cardiology hospitals.

“Work is proceeding in a very ordered and professional manner,” says Aryeh Berkovitz, who reports that all construction is proceeding according to plan. Due to the project’s enormous scope and special nature, it has been making headlines. The recent cement pouring has received coverage on all major radio stations, TV channels and in the printed and online media throughout Israel.

Watch the foundation laying for the World’s Largest Underground Hospital on You Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/user/rambamhospital?feature=mhum#p/u/6/LzOXT7vzNIo

And now a success from Sheba Medical Center

Following up from my last blog concerning the success at Haifa's Rambam hospital, Tel Aviv's Sheba hospital does not want to be outdone.


A three-week-old Beduin baby who would likely have been aborted if his mother had undergone an ultrasound scan during pregnancy has been saved from a congenital defect with sophisticated treatment, that included days of being connected to a $200,000 device at Sheba Medical Center’s Edward and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital.

The first son of Rahat residents Rasha and Shadi Elkranawi, themselves barely out of their teens, was born at 2.6 kilos in Rasha’s ninth month at Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba.His condition immediately turned critical, as doctors diagnosed a diaphramatic hernia, in which the intestines move up into the chest cavity and put pressure on the lungs.

Soroka lacked the special equipment needed to keep him breathing and his heart beating after an operation.Although doctors didn’t know if the baby would survive the transfer to Sheba at Tel Hashomer, they nonetheless sent him there and hasty arrangements were made for him with the head of the medical center’s pediatric intensive care department. Four expert staffers – some of them on vacation in other parts of the country – were urgently called to the department to perform surgery to push the intestines back into the baby’s abdomen and repair the hernia.

The full story can be read at http://www.jpost.com/HealthAndSci-Tech/Health/Article.aspx?id=186772

The operation was a battle against time. Due to the pressure, some damage had already been done to the lungs. However the doctors performed miracles and now the baby is home and will not need any special treatment or equipment as he recovers.

Yet another Rambam hospital success

In the western world, cataract operations are considered routine procedures. In Israel alone, some 40,000 such operations are performed yearly. Just a few hours’ flight from here, however, thousands of people suffer from cataracts and blindness. Two Rambam ophthalmologists, returned from a mission to Yaounde, capital of the Republic of Cameroon in Africa, where they restored vision to tens of patients, and instructed local medical teams performing the same procedures.


The mission was sponsored by MASHAV, the Center for International Cooperation of Israel’s foreign ministry. For two weeks, the doctors diagnosed and operated on patients with different eye ailments in the city’s main medical center, Centre H'ospitalier D'Essos. Some of the operations were performed using a phacoemulsifiaction machine, a device for cataract procedures that was brought specially from Israel for the mission. The Israeli doctors also supervised local teams in treating glaucoma patients by laser.

News of the Israeli doctors’ arrival drew patients seeking treatment and advice. Hospitals in Cameroon attend only to insured or paying patients and those without adequate means remain untreated. During their short stay, Drs. Berger and Socea conducted 55 cataract and glaucoma operations primarily for patients in need , ranging in age from five to over 80. Putting this in perspective, the local department carries out only 100 operations yearly.

The procedures were performed with help of the hospital’s staff, along with teams from other cities who arrived to take part in the operation and to learn from the Israeli doctors.

“One of the most moving cases involved a 15-year old boy,” recalls Dr. Berger. “At a young age, this boy had received treatment that left him with cataracts in both eyes and with reversible blindness. We operated on his eyes and he recovered his sight.” Another case involved an elderly man who had been blinded in both eyes as the result of traditional methods of cataract surgery . The RHCC doctors also succeeded in restoring his vision. “This is an ailment that can be treated effectively, ” says Dr. Berger. “Only the absence of proper diagnosis and treatment allows so many people to remain blind.”

The farewell ceremony for the Rambam doctors took place in the presence of Israel’s ambassador to Cameroon, the director and deputy-director of Cameroon’s social security program (CNPS) ,representatives of the Israel foreign ministry, hospital staff and treated patients.

The Department of Ophthalmology, under the direction of Prof. Benjamin Miller, has a tradition of assistance in Africa. “In Israel, medical care is taken for granted, but in Africa you feel you are helping people who live with great difficulties. The results are quick and exciting,” says Dr. Berger. “The operations and guidance we provided are a contribution of Israel to Cameroon. This is part of a long-term, successful Israeli initiative in developing countries, especially Africa.”

For a video presentation see http://www.youtube.com/user/rambamhospital#p/u/5/G0WOUM4azbE

Making Peace with the Pacemakers

From the Rambam hospital in my home town of Haifa comes another innovation to help those who have had pacemakers fitted as a consequence of their heart problems

New cutting-edge technology allows patients with pacemakers to safely undergo full MRI scans. In addition, this innovative device offers more functions than previous pacemakers. Lately, Rambam doctors implanted the device in the first Israeli patient

Rambam Health Care Campus (RHCC) doctors have implanted – in the first Israeli patient – a new improved pacemaker. This novel device, an updated version of the EnRythm MRI, is the first pacemaker developed that can be use safely during full body scans in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machines. The device also offers more functions, particularly in the detection and treatment of arrythmias.

As part of a multi-national trial, the pacemaker was implanted in an Israeli patient by Dr Mahmud Suleiman, Dr Monder Boulos and Dr Yuval Goldschmidt of Rambam’s Cardiology Department.

While the first generation of the pacemaker, EnRythm MRI, implanted in a patient at Rambam last year, allowed for partial MRI scanning, the new device enables imaging of the entire body. EnRythm was developed by the company Medtronic, an international leader in medical technologies for chronic diseases that received the European CE Mark approval.

MRI has many advantages, including its unparalleled ability to discriminate between different soft tissues and the fact that it does not involve radiation. A sophisticated medical imaging device, MRI uses a powerful magnetic field to visualize the internal structure and function of the body for diagnostic purposes. To this point, patients with pacemakers could not undergo MRI testing since the device is sensitive to the MRI stimulus, which may cause life-threatening malfunctions.

It is estimated that some 50-75% of patients with heart implants worldwide will require MRI imaging tests during their lifetimes. In Europe alone, there are roughly two million patients with pacemakers who cannot undergo MRI imaging due to the high health risks involved.

"While the use of MRI testing has grown tremendously over the years and has become routine, it has also become a serious obstacle for heart implant patients due to incompatibility of the pacemaker with the powerful magnetic field of the imaging technology,” says Dr. Boulos. “The innovative pacemaker by Medtronic, allows heart implant patients to safely undergo MRI testing without risks to the functioning of the device"

“MRI is the best imaging modality available for neurology, rheumatology and orthopedics patients, since it has the best soft tissue characteristics,” says Dr. Ariel Roguin, head of Rambam’s Interventional Cardiology Laboratory, who wrote the European guidelines for this trial. “In the past, many patients who have pacemakers and neurology-related problems were denied this examination, which is crucial for accurate diagnosis. Now, with this new device, they can undergo the MRI procedure safely.”

Signs of Hope?

Israel is not a perfect society, it is still developing after 62 years BUT the functioning universal health care system and its ability to separate the conflict from medicine earns praise.

Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian, reports his experiences in an Israel hospital in terms of "hope" in an article to be found at http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-EdContributors/Article.aspx?id=185729

There many reasons to be pessimistic and at times to despair about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet even when things look hopeless, hope has a way of appearing, offering a vision of what can be rather than what is. Recently, I caught a glimpse of this hope in an unlikely place – the Israeli health care system.In December, I went for a routine checkup with my family doctor in east Jerusalem and received the news everyone fears – I had cancer. What had seemed like a small lump in my neck was in fact thyroid cancer – devastating news for someone in his late 20s. I was quickly scheduled for surgery and given a date of May 17.

I immediately called my close friend Dr. Adel Misk, a Palestinian neurologist from east Jerusalem. Misk works in both Israeli and Palestinian hospitals, treating Palestinians and Israelis alike. He referred me to his colleague, Dr. Shila Nagar, a Jewish Israeli endocrinologist.When Misk referred me to Nagar, he was not thinking in the terms of Palestinians and Israelis, but rather in terms of which specialist could best treat me. He was not concerned about her religious practices or political opinions. He was only concerned about her track record as a doctor.In the waiting room outside Nagar’s office, I could not help but notice how many Palestinians were there. It did not bother them that she was Jewish, just like Misk’s Jewish patients do not mind that he is Palestinian. All the stereotypes and fences of nationalist fervor were replaced with basic survival instincts.

I SHARED my thoughts about Israeli-Palestinian medical cooperation with Nagar, who told me a story of a Jewish friend of hers who had prostate problems. One night he was suffering from a painful blockage and went to the emergency room. The doctor on duty was an Arab woman. He was not pleased: It is doubly bad, he thought, an Arab and a woman. At first he refused to let her treat him; however, as the pain increased he changed his mind and called her in. Years later, this Arab woman is his permanent doctor and a close friend. This personal experience was Nagar’s example of how humanity (and physical necessity!) can overcome nationalism.Fast forward to the day of my surgery.

In an ironic twist of fate, here I was, a Palestinian journalist, draped in a hospital gown covered in Stars of David. I was stressed and fearful. Yet none of these emotions had to do with the nationality of my doctors or the pattern on my hospital gown. I was afraid of the surgery, and the possibility of not waking up again. However, when I was brought to the operating room, I was again given another dose of hope.I had two surgeons, a Palestinian Arab and an Israeli Jew. The anesthesiologist was an extremely experienced and competent Russian who joked with me until I fell asleep. My life was in the hands of an ideal team. Meanwhile, my family waited outside. My wife and mother were both in tears, and later told me that a Jewish woman waiting for news of her relative’s surgery comforted them.In the midst of the hatred, anger and bitterness of the conflict, you can still find glimpses of goodness. Unfortunately, this light often passes unnoticed. Yet it offers a practical example of the dream we all share, of a future where we can live safe and full lives without fear of injury.

My surgery went extremely well, and I recovered quickly. Moreover, through this painful experience I caught a glimmer of hope in what seems like a hopeless environment. I have many criticisms of Israeli policies and politics, but the functioning universal health care system in Israel and its ability to separate politics from medicine earns my praise.This is not to say that the system is perfect. Like any future Israel and Palestine might share, there is the possibility of getting distracted by issues of insurance and bureaucracy. However, when it matters most, Israeli and Palestinian doctors share a commitment to human life regardless of ethnicity, religion or nationality. Moreover, when it comes time to choose doctors, we base our choice on who is mostly likely to promote human life. If only we voted on the same basis!

Unfortunately, I had to experience the health care system personally before being able to appreciate this example of what Israelis and Palestinians can achieve. Despite the pain and suffering, I am grateful to have discovered such a hidden treasure of humanity at its best.

Israeli Medics to Help in the Rehabilitation of Amputees in Haiti

ALYN Hospital experts from Israel are flying to Haiti to assist in the Rehabilitation of Amputeesand begin the next phase of recovery.

Medical professionals from ALYN Hospital – (www.alyn.org) – Israel’s premier rehabilitation center for physically disabled children and adolescents – under the auspices of IsraAID (www.israaid.org), will arrive in Haiti Wednesday, February 17th to examine and evaluate the type and number of injuries an amputations, as well as assess the abilities of the local medical staff in Haiti to carry out the necessary rehabilitation of its people.

The exact number of injuries and amputees in Haiti is still unclear, but experts believe that record numbers of people may have lost limbs either from injuries sustained from building collapses and falling debris or from life-threatening infections contracted in the days and weeks following the quake. As the emergency response shifts from rescue and recovery to rehabilitation in Haiti, Israel is at the forefront again, sending a team of experts who specialize in rehabilitation.

ALYN Hospital has a wealth of expertise in the types of injuries children in Haiti have suffered from as a result of the devastating earthquake, particularly in rehabilitating children with prosthetics, orthopedic injuries, spinal cord injuries and head traumas. “We are terribly saddened by the heartbreaking number of amputees in Haiti, but are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of IsraAID’s mission so that we can lend our expertise in rehabilitation to the people who need it most,” said the Director General of ALYN Hospital. “Our therapists - as part of the IsraAID team will make a ground assessment of the rehabilitation and resources needed. If a decision is made - at some point in time - to bring Haitian children and medical professionals to Israel, ALYN will be honored to open its facility to them in an effort to provide rehabilitation for the injured children and hands-on-training to potential therapists so that they can return to Haiti well equipped to rehabilitate the growing number of injuries.”

This mission is part of a broader mission to Haiti that includes the Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma of Herzog Hospital and "Tevel b'Tzedek" which would include nation wide post trauma training for international staff and government officials on the ground.


ALYN Hospital is Israel’s premiere comprehensive rehabilitation center for physically disabled children, adolescents and young adults. It is unique in both what it offers and how it offers rehabilitation. All of the necessary rehabilitation services (medical, para-medical and educational) are under one roof and the staff combines expertise with love to help each child reach his or her highest possible levels of mobility an independence.

Tevel b'Tzedek is a pioneering Israeli NGO working on issues of social and environmental justice. It is the first Israeli NGO to bring Israeli and Diaspora Jews together to study and work in developing countries and at home in order to eliminate poverty and develop a Jewish approach to justice in a global world. Tevel b'Tzedek's projects integrate education, youth and women's empowerment, health, agriculture and income generation in order to revive marginalized communities in Nepal, Israel and now Haiti.

Co-Existance Projects Gain Ground in Northern Israel

The Circle of International Health COHI www.cohintl.org announced that on February 16th, about 15 midwives from Israel and Palestine will attend the first coexistence meeting of the new decade.

The goal of the meeting is to continue the efforts of coexistence that was started last year and to bridge the gap and reduce differences that have been created from of decades of war. The midwives will socialize and talk about their work, discuss professional and personal stories and learn from each other's experiences.

The midwives in the north of Israel are continuing to do routine follow-up for pregnant women and post-partum women from the African community who live in a shelter for women & kids.

New Israeli COHI supporters are joining these efforts in a number of ways:-

Our local Carmel Hospital (in Haifa) is providing free treatment to the project's refugee women. The women are all welcome and taken care of by the most professional staff in a good and caring atmosphere.

A post-partum doula went out of her way to support, travel, and help organize services for one refugee who needed special care, staying hours with her before, during and after birth.

An OBGYN who does ultrasound check-ups and routine follow-ups for women voluntarily in his clinic.

This is the reality of life in Haifa

Is the Haiti operation coming to a Close?

Today, Sunday (January 24), Israel will conduct a status assessment regarding the IDF's future activity in Haiti. The Israeli field hospital was established in order to provide a first response to the citizens of Haiti until the arrival of additional medical forces capable of dealing with the magnitude of the situation. With the presence of American airplanes which brought with them equipment to build another hospital in Haiti, along with additional medical centers which have opened in the disaster zone, the activities of the Israeli field hospital will come to a close.

However, IDF will remain in the country for as long as it is needed there and will provide assistance and support in various ways to the local population. The delegation has begun, as part of a broad international effort, to bring hundreds of thousands of Port-au-Prince residents to tent cities outside of the capital. Three water towers with a capacity of up to 12,000 liters of water each, were built by the delegation's representatives in order to supply the residents with a water infrastructure. Shelters and tents have also been constructed in order to provide refuge for those who have lost their homes. Israeli civil engineers also opened central traffic routes that had been blocked in the aftermath of the earthquake.

As of 23 January:
• 739 people have been treated in the hospital, among them dozens of children
• 241 life-saving operations have been performed
• 12 babies have been born in the hospital

In addition, help is being offered to other teams to help them be effective.
- The Colombian surgical team had the necessary equipment and asked to deploy next to Israel's hospital and to be part of the hospital.
- 20 British doctors and nurses asked to work with the Israelis. This is the same Britain that represents the so-called enlightened Europe, constantly criticising Israel.
- the Russian delegation asked for Israeli assistance to power medical equipment.

The team is giving full equality to all patients being treated. Haiti was a slave state and today there are terrible social gaps between the rich and the elite. In the present circumstances, this counts for nothing and the group of the poorest of the poor world are being treated the same as any other group.

Haiti Rescue Team from Israel

IDF Medical and Rescue Team has set up a Field Hospital, Beginning to Rescue and Treat hundreds

The IDF Medical and Rescue Team has arrived in Haiti, set up a field hospital in Port-Au-Prince and is beginning to treat patients there. In addition, the forces are locating and rescuing survivors trapped in ruined buildings, including many who were injured during the collapse of the UN headquarters.

The field hospital is prepared to receive dozens of ambulances evacuating injured children from the different disaster struck areas. Between Friday night and Saturday, dozens of truckloads of medical and logistical equipment were unloaded and the field hospital set up.

The Israeli delegation landed in the capital of Port-Au-Prince yesterday evening and has located itself in a soccer field near the air port. Upon arrival, C4I teams deployed communications infrastructure in preparations for the hospital's establishment.

Two teams, comprised of search and rescue personnel and canine operators from the IDF canine unit were sent out on rescue missions. The first team was sent to the Haiti UN headquarters in order to assist in rescuing survivors.

The rescue teams are working in cooperation with local authorities in order to reach disaster struck areas where survivors can be located and assisted.

The delegation is scheduled to stay in Haiti for a minimum of two weeks. Further stay will be assessed at the end of this period.

To watch a video of IDF forces operating in Haiti, go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk?blend=1&ob=4#p/a/u/0/NdplDDY9MGA
To get photographs of IDF operating in Haiti, go to: www.idfspokesperson.com.

Israelis Save Lives; Deliver New Baby at Israeli Field Hospital in Haiti.

ZAKA rescue unit in Haiti pulls eight students alive from collapsed university building

The six man ZAKA delegation (four from Israel and two from Mexico) had arrived in Haiti aboard a Mexican air force Hercules, immediately after completing their work in recovery and identification in the Mexico City helicopter crash.

On arrival, the ZAKA delegation was dispatched to the collapsed 8-storey university building where cries could be heard from the trapped students. After 38 hours of work around the clock working with the Mexican military delegation and otehr Jewish volunteers from Mexico, the ZAKA volunteers succeeded Saturday in pulling eight students alive from the rubble.

Amid the stench and chaos, the ZAKA delegation took time out to recite Shabbat prayers - a surreal sight of ultra-orthodox men wrapped in prayer shawls standing on the collapsed buildings. Many locals sat quietly in the rubble, staring at the men as they prayed facing Jerusalem. At the end of the prayers, they crowded around the delegation and kissed the prayer shawls.

IsraAID medical team treats injured in Port-au-Prince Hospital

Just minutes after landing in the airport in Port-au-Prince the IsraAID team was met by David Darg, Operation Blessing Director in the field and his staff and joined with them to unload a planeload of food and medical equipment.

The Israeli medical professionals of IsraAID - F.I.R.S.T. traveled to the main Port-au-prince Hospital to start treating patients, joining local physicians at the site of the collapsed central hospital where thousands of wounded have gathered desperate for help.

"The scenes in the hospital were horrible we saw people everywhere on the floors in the building and outside, people with amputations and bone-deep wounds, hundreds of them, the size of the catastrophe is unbelievable. All of the injured were treated until we came by only one local doctor and we were the first foreign backup team to operate in the hospital." Said Nurse Sheva Cohen from Kibbutz Ein Yahav in the Negev.

When the team arrived at the hospital they found most of the injured outside the building laying in beds in the building's garden, probably out of fear of aftershocks and further collapse. The IsraAID team set up treatment rooms in four empty rooms, treating 60 patients with IV and administered medicine. While in the hospital, an infant with 60% burns died and bodies that had not yet been removed for burial were piled up in back.

In the meantime, the logistical personnel remain in the airport area to set up camp and assist local NGO partners with logistical support for relief items that were continuing to land.

Currently the teams are working around the clock to provide assistance to the injured. In light of the scale of the disaster, IsraAID is currently focused on expanding the scale of its operation, preparing an additional team that would be sent next week.

Sudanese Refugee gives Birth in Israel

For the past few years, a shelter outside of Haifa, has opened its doors to women who have fled violence and war in their own countries and have risked their lives to make the dangerous journey across the border into Israel from Egypt. These women come from the prisons, from the streets—broken, hurting, in desperate situations. A number of them come to us pregnant and needing immediate medical attention. The insurance companies will not give coverage for pre-existing conditions (which includes pregnancy!)

One particular story stands out as an example of how the Circle of International Health (COHI) team has dramatically impacted the life of one of the women. Teresa, a Sudanese woman from the Dinka tribe, was sent to the shelter from prison where she and her two year old child had spent a number of months. She was thin for someone who was already in her seventh month and seemed very much under stress as she was worried that her husband was not being released from prison.

Soon after she arrived, the COHI volunteers began their visits to the shelter. Teresa was examined and they detected some minor swelling in her ankles—a sign of possible edema. A few days later, Teresa complained that she was not feeling well. After taking her blood pressure which was extremely high, sent her immediately to the hospital. Clearly the advice to send her to hospital may have saved Teresa's life as she was experiencing preeclampsia and the doctors said that had she arrived any later, her condition would have been critical. The doctors agreed to give her the opportunity to have a natural birth. Unfortunately, as Teresa was brought into the labor room a volunteer came to the rescue to sit with Teresa during the labor. Amazingly the contractions began to speed up and she dilated quickly.

Several more babies have been born since that time and the shelter has been more than grateful that COHI has expanded its services for us—supplying doulas at birth, finding gynecologists to assist in pre-natal care, walking through a multitude of needs specific to each woman, providing counselors to help with breastfeeding. The level of compassion and concern displayed by the COHI team is tremendous. Recently, we had a heartbreaking situation where the husband of one of the refugees died in her arms while crossing the desert. The volunteers od COHI identified some very deep problems in this woman and we were able to act accordingly. Truly they give more than just medical expertise; COHI as exemplified by the team in Israel give fully of themselves to this work and to the women they serve. A HUGE thank you to all who make this possible.