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Send In The Clowns!

A study conducted at Shaare Zedek Medical Center found that involving medical clowns in medical treatment significantly improves patients’ experience. In the study, 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 their more >

By |August 11th, 2017|News, Photos, Support ACSZ, Wilf Children's Hospital|0 Comments|
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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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    Shaare Zedek’s War: Fifty Years Since Jerusalem Was Reunified, A Look Back at Shaare Zedek’s Role in the Six Day War

Shaare Zedek’s War: Fifty Years Since Jerusalem Was Reunified, A Look Back at Shaare Zedek’s Role in the Six Day War

The Six Day War changed the course of Jewish history. When it was over, Jerusalem was no longer a divided city and the Temple Mount was in Jewish hands for the first time in two millennia. But as the fighting raged, Shaare Zedek, then located in its original home on Jaffa Road, was the hospital closest to the combat — just a few short kilometers from the front and under frequent Jordanian fire. The following is a brief account from the Hospital’s archive, including material that was previously published.
First Alert
In the early hours of Monday, June 5th, 1967, the telephone hotline from Israel’s military headquarters rang at Shaare Zedek. It was a short conversation, not lasting longer than 15 seconds. Neither did it take long for the Hospital’s well-oiled “State of Emergency” apparatus to begin to move at full speed. Phones soon rang at the homes of the hospital’s administrative and medical staff. Ambulances rushed out of the gate with urgent messages. Dr. Falk Schlesinger, the hospital’s director-general, arrived inside minutes.

Activity was intense. Groups of volunteers began to take up pre-assigned duties. The emergency generator was activated. Windows were covered with blackout material, sandbags strategically placed. Beds replaced desks. Even the hospital’s main corridors were soon lined with extra beds and stretchers. Ambulances and volunteers with their private cars swiftly evacuated many civilian patients whose release papers had been prepared by the doctors with detailed instructions for treatment at home — just in case.

The Brith Milah Hall, classrooms in the School of Nursing and the nurses’ own dormitories were soon converted into emergency wards. Basement areas were emptied to become shelters. Arrangements were made for volunteers from Shaare Zedek’s Ladies Auxiliary to care for more >

By |May 23rd, 2017|News|Comments Off on Shaare Zedek’s War: Fifty Years Since Jerusalem Was Reunified, A Look Back at Shaare Zedek’s Role in the Six Day War|
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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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    Shaare Zedek Trauma Chief Dr. Ofer Merin at AIPAC on IDF Mobile Field Hospital He Commands

Shaare Zedek Trauma Chief Dr. Ofer Merin at AIPAC on IDF Mobile Field Hospital He Commands

Dr. Ofer Merin is a cardiothoracic surgeon who heads the Trauma Unit at Shaare Zedek Medical Center while simultaneously serving as deputy to the Hospital’s Director General Professor Jonathan Halevy. Dr. Merin is also the commander of Israel’s vaunted and unique IDF Mobile Field Hospital which is officially recognized by the World Health Organization of the United Nations as the best in the world, following evaluation of the work of 83 countries.

[Watch VIDEO here]

In his role with the IDF, Dr. Merin addressed the 2017 AIPAC Convention in Washington, D.C. and explained that the field hospital’s credo is: “Go Far, Go Fast, Go Big.” Dr. Merin explained that “what makes our team special is more than speed and logistics.” As at Shaare Zedek, “we approach every patient as though they are a member of our family. To be sure, we treat the injury. But we also treat the husband who just lost his wife, the child who just lost his mother and the members of the community whose world has been turned upside down in a matter of seconds. The ‘who’ does not matter, nor does the ‘where.’ The only thing that matters is treating a patient — any patient — with the highest quality care we can provide, with the highest morals and values while respecting the dignity of those in need.”

Dr. Merin said, “the European Union has asked us to work with them to build a mobile medical unit on par with our own.” To prolonged applause, he also introduced senior commanders of the IDF Medical Corps who are in Washington for a conference with their counterparts in the US military.

By |March 27th, 2017|Events, News|Comments Off on Shaare Zedek Trauma Chief Dr. Ofer Merin at AIPAC on IDF Mobile Field Hospital He Commands|
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Setting The Mood For Purim at Shaare Zedek

Preparations for Purim are underway at Shaare Zedek. This brief moment in time was captured on Rosh Chodesh Adar 5777 — the first day of the month — as two of our beloved Dream Doctors ferried a young patient around on their bicycle built for two (two clowns, that is).

Chassidic music star Avraham Fried helped Shaare Zedek celebrate Purim 5776 with a performance at the Wilf Children’s Hospital.

By |March 8th, 2017|Events, News, Photos, Wilf Children's Hospital|Comments Off on Setting The Mood For Purim at Shaare Zedek|
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Return To Zion

A Doctor from Teaneck, NJ Returns to Shaare Zedek for His Annual Stint as a Very Highly-Skilled Volunteer — But This Time Something is Different
By Dr. Howard Zvi Goldschmidt
In the 1950s, my Aunt Miriam and Uncle Zvi made aliyah to an agricultural moshav after undergoing a few months of training on a model farm (“hachshara”) in southern New Jersey. They were following in the footsteps of another uncle, who came to fight in the 1948 War of Independence and stayed for good. Zvi was thrilled with his high school teaching job and farming chores, but  Miriam was beaten down by waiting daily in long lines at the grocer, post office and bank in sweltering heat. They returned to the US, disappointed and disenchanted after just 18 months.
Over the years, a number of friends uprooted their families from comfortable suburban lives in the US in pursuit of the Zionist dream. For some, the economic and social challenges for themselves and their children were insurmountable. I greatly admired these friends for their courage and felt their anguish when things didn’t work out and they returned to the States.       
I have chosen an easier path for myself. I will take the citizenship without the hardship (“Aliyah Lite”). I will advocate for Israel from America, speaking as an American and an Israeli. I’ve always had multiple identities: traditional modern Jew, husband, father,  doctor, student of 20th Century history and art, dilettante, man of letters, long distance runner. I’m proud to add “Israeli” to this list.
Each of us has multiple axes of identification, including religious, political, nationalistic and linguistic. To ready myself for aliyah, I have struggled to become a “Hebrew Man” (great song by Ehud Banai, by the way). In the more >

By |February 22nd, 2017|Dr. Howie Goldschmidt's Blog, News|Comments Off on Return To Zion|
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    Shaare Zedek Hero Reunited With Girl She Saved From Kidnapper

Shaare Zedek Hero Reunited With Girl She Saved From Kidnapper

A three-year-old named Nicole Chodkovski wandered away from her mother at a mall in Beer Sheva. Another woman took the little girl by the hand, heading toward a bus for Tel Aviv. The woman began asking for money along the way, telling people that Nicole was her sister and that their mother was waiting for them. A quick-thinking soldier, Moria Baranes, noticed the odd behavior. She told the woman she had money for her but first wanted to meet her mother. The woman grabbed Nicole and broke into a run, with Baranes in pursuit, shouting, “Kidnapper!” The woman finally dropped Nicole in order to get away and the mother and daughter were reunited.

That was 16 years ago. Nicole Chodkovski is now a soldier and recently told friends she wanted to meet the woman who saved her. The IDF located Moria, now 35, at Shaare Zedek, where she works in the Barkai Shor Gynecology Outpatient Clinics. A reunion was arranged at a roadblock Nicole helps guard that Moria drives through regularly.

“Moria saved my life,” Nicole said when they met. “Who knows what would have happened if she would not have noticed me?”

Moria replied, “Wow, those eyes I will not forget. These were the eyes I saw crying while she was being held by the woman who tried to kidnap her. I saved her then and today she watches over me.”

This article first appeared in the Winter ’16-’17 issue of Heartbeat Magazine published by the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center.

To receive future issues send name and mailing address to national (at) acsz.org or join our digital mailing list here.

 

By |February 6th, 2017|Heartbeat, News|Comments Off on Shaare Zedek Hero Reunited With Girl She Saved From Kidnapper|
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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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2017 at Shaare Zedek: Improved Patient Experience

In the Cinema City complex in Jerusalem in late December, Shaare Zedek Medical Center held a special event to mark the launch of its “Improve the Patient Experience” project, the Health Ministry’s 2017 flagship initiative. The aim is to improve service for the patient population.
Shaare Zedek has set the standard and is working to improve the patient experience at all levels of the organization – from senior managers through unit heads to the teams trained in service provision. Our training in the field includes developing communication skills and a service culture, and ways to generate positive dialogue with patients and their families. Structuring an ongoing, dynamic dialogue on the topic of patient experience contributes and will contribute to deepening trust and cooperation between patients and treatment providers.
The patient’s experience reflects the way in which a person perceives all of his or her interactions with the health system along the treatment continuum. This experience is influenced by the meetings between treatment provider and patient, from the patient’s expectations of the health system and from the organizational culture of each of the frameworks with which the patient comes into contact.

Defining standards and benchmarks for patient experience serve as a springboard for improving communication between patients and treatment providers and advances quality and safety in the health system.

At Shaare Zedek our aim is to improve transparency and presenting the patient – at our initiative – with complete, updated, understandable and accessible information, speedy responses to requests, showing respect, decency and empathy towards the patient, adapting treatment or experiences to the unique needs of each patient, emotional support, involving the patient’s family or other significant carer, empowering the patient, improving patient-service provider communication, the patient’s physical comfort, making the more >

By |December 30th, 2016|Announcements, Events, News|Comments Off on 2017 at Shaare Zedek: Improved Patient Experience|
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Innovative Medicine in the Heart of Jerusalem

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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.

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Phone: 212.354.8801
Email: national@acsz.org


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