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Send In The Clowns!

Involving medical clowns in medical treatment significantly improves patients’ experience, according to a study conducted at Shaare Zedek Medical Center. The study found that Shaare Zedek’s “Dream Doctors” helped children with cerebral palsy who were undergoing recurrent botulinum toxin injections. The researchers discovered that the involvement of the medical clowns reduced the pain the young patients felt, not only during the initial injection but also during subsequent injections, even if the clowns were not present for the later treatment.

The Shaare Zedek study was supported by the Magi Foundation.

Participating in the study “was a very special and enlightening experience,” shared “Dr. Sababa” (aka Avraham Cohen). “The challenge was to create tools that can be used when a child is undergoing a specific treatment and to ensure that those tools can be used by clowns in any country and under an array of situations. The study showed what we really already knew — a medical clown that is skilled and professional really makes a difference in the patient’s experience.”

The Dream Doctors Project integrates therapeutic medical clowns into Shaare Zedek and more than 20 other Israeli hospitals. It trains them to work as part of various medical units carrying out procedures to improve patient well-being and advance care. Each Dream Doctor has a rich background in the dramatic arts in addition to the hospital training. Like Shaare Zedek’s other professionals and paraprofessionals, members of our Dream Doctors team work according to a set schedule determined according to the Hospital’s needs.

“Our work focuses on developing trust with the young patients. They call the shots. We follow their lead and together we can conquer anything,” explained “Jacko” (aka Jacob) after the Shaare Zedek Dream Doctors completed a daylong training session with more >

By |August 11th, 2017|News, Photos, Support ACSZ, Wilf Children's Hospital|Comments Off on Send In The Clowns!|
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    Shaare Zedek Awarded International Accreditation, Credited With “Outstanding Performance” by Reviewers of Joint Commission International

Shaare Zedek Awarded International Accreditation, Credited With “Outstanding Performance” by Reviewers of Joint Commission International

Shaare Zedek is Now the First and Only Jerusalem Academic Hospital to Achieve JCI Accredited Status

(JERUSALEM- June 27, 2017) Following an extensive and intensive review process, Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center has become the city’s first and only academic hospital to receive international accreditation by the Joint Commission International (JCI).  Independent surveyors from the JCI described Shaare Zedek’s medical activities in extremely complimentary terms, stating that the hospital’s medical performance was “outstanding” and far beyond what the reviewers have observed in many hospitals around the world.
Specific praise was offered to the hospital’s attention to the emotional needs of the patient, and areas pertaining to patient rights.  The surveyors also spoke extremely highly of the cleaning standards of the facilities and singled out the performance of the maintenance, cleaning, and food preparation crews.  Reviews of the surgical complex produced reports describing the operating theaters as among the finest in the world. Similar comments were afforded to the NICU, laboratory, research and many treatment areas.
In an emotional ceremony regularly interrupted by applause, a final report was presented to the hospital staff. It followed a five-day review process in which the hospital was tested on over 1,200 different parameters included within the JCI survey.  Using words such as “Amazing,” “Phenomenal” and “Incredible,” the surveyors said that Shaare Zedek should take a great deal of pride from their accomplishments.
Shaare Zedek Director General Professor Jonathan Halevy welcomed the announcement saying it provided Shaare Zedek independent recognition as a hospital operating at the height of international standards. 
“This accreditation and the extremely high marks and praise we received through this process provide independent validation for what we and the people of Jerusalem have long known; that Shaare Zedek represents a gold more >

By |June 27th, 2017|Announcements, News, Support ACSZ|Comments Off on Shaare Zedek Awarded International Accreditation, Credited With “Outstanding Performance” by Reviewers of Joint Commission International|
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    Yom HaZikaron 2017: Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day at Shaare Zedek

Yom HaZikaron 2017: Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day at Shaare Zedek

At the Yom Hazikaron Ceremony at Shaare Zedek Medical Center on May 1, 2017, our staff, patients, and visitors marked Israel’s Memorial Day by remembering the 23,544 Israeli soldiers who have fallen in defense of the State of Israel, and 3,117 victims of terrorism.  Speakers included Yaron Shor, who shared memories of his son, Sergeant Barkai Yishai Shor z”l, from Jerusalem, who fell near Kibbutz Nahal Oz during Operation Protective Edge. He had been protecting the people of Israel from terrorists who penetrated the border by tunneling underground from Gaza.
From the age of 15, Barkai Shor z”l volunteered with Magen David Adom, Israel’s national ambulance service. His life was tragically cut short before he had the opportunity to fulfill his dream of medical school and a life of helping others as a physician.
“Barkai had a strong connection with Shaare Zedek,” Yaron shared. “He dreamed of becoming a doctor. He visited Shaare Zedek many times as part of his volunteer efforts with MADA and at various times he would come to the medical center to visit with patients.”
Shaare Zedek Medical Center today proudly offers treatment in the Barkai Shor Gynecology Outpatient Clinics on the 9th Floor of our Next Generation Building. May his memory be blessed.

By |May 1st, 2017|Events, News, Photos, Support ACSZ|Comments Off on Yom HaZikaron 2017: Remembering the Fallen on Memorial Day at Shaare Zedek|
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Israel Needs You, Shaare Zedek Needs You!

By |February 6th, 2017|Support ACSZ|Comments Off on Israel Needs You, Shaare Zedek Needs You!|
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Helmsley Neurological Center Opening at Shaare Zedek

‘The fate of many stroke, neurological and neurosurgical patients in Jerusalem is being changed today’
The creation of the new Helmsley Neurological Center at Shaare Zedek Medical Center was marked with great excitement at a ceremony at the Hospital on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. With its opening, Shaare Zedek will be considered a Level-One Trauma Center, with neurosurgery, neuroradiology, and neurological care including Jerusalem’s new Stroke Unit.

New York’s The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust gave the largest donation of $5 million to the new center. One of the three trustees of the organization, attorney Sandy Frankel, and his wife, Ruth, attended yesterday’s ceremony. He shared that billionaire businessman Harry Helmsley was not Jewish and that neither he nor his wife Leona was ever in Israel. Yet, he said, “[It is a] privilege and high honor to participate in a project like this and all of our projects in Israel. It makes you feel really good inside…[Israel and its people] mean so much to us. We think about you all the time. You face a tsunami of hatred…You are a true democracy in a sea of turmoil. You should know that you are not alone. Millions of Americans think of you all the time.”
Strokes are the third-biggest cause of death in Israel after cancer and heart disease. Prof. Jonathan Halevy, Shaare Zedek’s Director General, explained, “There are tens of billions of neurons in the brain, and after an ischemic stroke [caused by a clot in a vessel], one loses two million nerve cells every minute. If you can get patients to a computerized tomography [CT scan] unit to diagnose the stroke and give medication to melt the stroke, you can prevent or at least minimize the more >

By |December 1st, 2016|Announcements, Events, Helmsley Neurological Center, News, Support ACSZ|Comments Off on Helmsley Neurological Center Opening at Shaare Zedek|
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Get Involved! Help Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Jerusalem

Shaare Zedek Medical Center needs you and the people of Jerusalem need you. Watch and enjoy learning about Israel’s most important and influential medical facility. Then, we hope you’ll consider getting involved.

By |November 23rd, 2016|Announcements, Hospital Tour, News, Support ACSZ, Wilf Children's Hospital|Comments Off on Get Involved! Help Shaare Zedek Medical Center and Jerusalem|
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Thanks To You!

It’s been a great year at Shaare Zedek. And now, the end is near! The end of the year, that is. And these final days of 2016 are perfect for a gift (or an additional gift) to the people of Jerusalem. 

 

 

By |November 23rd, 2016|Announcements, Helmsley Neurological Center, News, Support ACSZ, Wilf Children's Hospital|Comments Off on Thanks To You!|
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For Second Time, Four Stars From Charity Navigator for ACSZ

Happy New Year, indeed. For a second time, The American Committee for Shaare Zedek is proud to be awarded the coveted rating of four-stars by the nonprofit watchdog group Charity Navigator, attesting to its strong financial health and commitment to accountability and transparency. Charity Navigator “aims to accentuate the work of efficient and transparent organizations” among America’s 1.5 million charities and to provide to astute donors “essential information to give them greater confidence in…the charitable decisions that they make.” A letter to our CEO, Rachel Wolf, states that this “exceptional designation sets American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”

About American Committee for Shaare Zedek

ACSZ raises funds to support the work of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. Since 1902, the Hospital has played an essential role in the life of the city and its uniquely diverse population, providing “Innovative Medicine in the Heart of Jerusalem.” An exceptional blend of state-of-the-art healing and deep compassion await all who enter its doors.

More than 650,000 patients a year receive treatment at Shaare Zedek’s one-thousand-bed facility. It houses several dozen inpatient departments and scores of outpatient units. Our many Centers of Excellence include the Jesselson Heart Center, Wilf Children’s Hospital, and Weinstock Family Department of Emergency Medicine on the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Floor. More than 22,000 babies are welcomed each year at Shaare Zedek’s main campus and at our City Center (Bikur Cholim) campus, making our maternity department the most active in Israel and the entire Western world.

Advanced Compassion

Shaare Zedek treats terror victims and IDF soldiers, expectant mothers needing advanced prenatal care and seniors suffering from tragic illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, cancer patients fighting for their more >

By |October 5th, 2016|Announcements, News, Support ACSZ|Comments Off on For Second Time, Four Stars From Charity Navigator for ACSZ|
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    The Hospital Kids Don’t Want to Leave: The Friedman Family Outpatient Pavilion of the Wilf Children’s Hospital at Shaare Zedek

The Hospital Kids Don’t Want to Leave: The Friedman Family Outpatient Pavilion of the Wilf Children’s Hospital at Shaare Zedek

Many of Tzippora Notis’s friends have married daughters who now have their own families. From time to time one of those young mothers will call her and no matter whom it is on the other end of the phone, Mrs. Notis says, the conversation nearly always sounds the same.

”I just want you to know that we had a medical situation that brought us to the outpatient clinics at Shaare Zedek,” the caller will say, ”And we saw your father’s name there. Could you please pass on to him what an unbelievable experience it was?”

It is the Friedman Family Outpatient Pavilion of the Wilf Children’s Hospital at Shaare Zedek Medical Center to which she refers — a generous gift to the people of Jerusalem by Mrs. Notis’ parents, Lea and Rabbi Jacob Friedman, of Los Angeles.

If only no child would ever need hospital care. Sadly, that’s not how life works, but in Jerusalem today, children are able to receive their necessary treatments in a setting that is so warm, and so loving, and just plain fun to visit, that they actually don’t want to leave. That may sound farfetched unless you know that the recently opened Wilf Children’s Hospital is a vibrant, brightly colored place with a music room, an art room, a veritable zoo of therapy animals that patients can hold and feed, and even a tablet computer at every bed, available for children to use at no charge.

But, particularly, it is the Friedman Family Outpatient Pavilion that has “changed the whole way that children look at going in for whatever treatments they have to go in for,” Mrs. Notis explained. “Just trying to get them to the Hospital — the crying and the more >

By |July 27th, 2016|News, Support ACSZ, Uncategorized, Wilf Children's Hospital|Comments Off on The Hospital Kids Don’t Want to Leave: The Friedman Family Outpatient Pavilion of the Wilf Children’s Hospital at Shaare Zedek|
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Hot Off the Press — Heartbeat for Summer ’16

Watch your mail for the Summer 2016 issue of our Heartbeat Magazine. If you’re on our ‘snail mail’ list, that is. Otherwise, please email national@acsz.org with your full name and address.

 

 

 

 

 

 

By |July 13th, 2016|Announcements, News, Support ACSZ|Comments Off on Hot Off the Press — Heartbeat for Summer ’16|
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Innovative Medicine in the Heart of Jerusalem

About

The American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem provides financial support to fund services, capital projects, research and the purchase of equipment for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

55 West 39 Street, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10018
Phone: 212.354.8801
Email: national@acsz.org

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