GalleryChildren’s Champions Bowling Event
Thanks for making this event a great success! You can still donate to help dedicate the giraffe incubator…
GalleryHeart of Jerusalem Dinner
Thanks to everyone who attended for making this a very special event. Donations are still being accepted here.
GalleryThe Shaare Zedek Emergency Room: A New Standard At Double The Size
Shaare Zedek has launched a bold campaign to double the size of its ER as demand for Emergency Room services rapidly increases. The Hospital will more than double the square footage of its emergency department with the addition of an all-new urgent-care pavilion. Today, the Weinstock Department of Emergency Medicine on the Fanya Gottesfeld Heller Floor includes 43 beds in approximately 16,000 square feet. The new Pavilion will add an additional 61 beds and 18,000 square feet. When this sophisticated, state-of-the-art facility first opened its doors it was treating 41,000 patients a year. Just fifteen years later the Hospital now sees more than 92,000 patients a year in our ER.
As the most centrally located hospital in Jerusalem, Shaare Zedek plays the most pivotal role in responding to major disasters and terrorist attacks. Spurred on by our reputation as the “Hospital with a Heart” and the surge in Jerusalem’s population, our Urgent Care Response System has significantly increased its activities resulting in Shaare Zedek’s status as the largest and fastest-growing comprehensive emergency service in the greater Jerusalem area. When it comes to trauma and emergency care, every minute — indeed often every second — matters.
PLEASE JOIN US IN BRINGING THIS CRITICAL VISION TO FRUITION.
GalleryCharity Navigator’s Highest Rating…For The FIFTH Time
We’re really starting to make a habit out of this… Charity Navigator has given us its highest possible rating for the FIFTH year in a row!
Charity Navigator’s CEO wrote, “Only 13% of the charities we evaluate have received at least 5 consecutive 4-star evaluations, indicating that American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center In Jerusalem outperforms most other charities in America. This exceptional designation from Charity Navigator sets American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center In Jerusalem apart from its peers and demonstrates to the public its trustworthiness.”
GalleryDr. Howard Zvi Goldschmidt Elected President of ACSZ
The American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem is pleased to announce that the National Board has elected Dr. Howard Zvi Goldschmidt to serve as its new President. Dr. Goldschmidt will be taking over for Debbie Kestenbaum, who served as President with tremendous acuity and vision for the last three years.
Shaare Zedek has been an important cause in Dr. Goldschmidt’s family for decades. His maternal grandfather, Herman Warisch z”l, was a classmate and lifelong friend of Dr. Falk Schlesinger, z”l, the Hospital’s second Director-General. His paternal grandfather, Carl Goldschmidt, z”l, served as a board member of The American Committee in the 1960s and 1970s and was honored posthumously in the early 80s. His parents, Helen and Eric Goldschmidt, attended many Shaare Zedek dinners and concerts. Dr. Goldschmidt himself was honored by the American Committee in 2016 for his outstanding volunteer service in providing world-class cardiac care to the people of Jerusalem and beyond.
“I feel honored to be stepping into the role of President of this amazing institution,” Dr. Goldschmidt said. “It has been my privilege since 2016 to spend a month at Shaare Zedek each year, working with senior physicians and residents in the Cardiology and Emergency Medicine departments. During my visits, I have had the opportunity to fully understand the ethos of this unique beacon for hope and healing. I believe that Shaare Zedek is one of the greatest providers of high-level medicine in a compassionate and supportive environment, making critical advancements in clinical care and research each day. I see it as my mission to get as many people as possible to visit the Hospital so that together, we can help make Shaare Zedek even greater than it is today. After all, what better more >
GalleryVIDEO: Professor Ofer Merin at Jerusalem Post Conference in NYC
Professor Ofer Merin gave a very moving talk at the Jerusalem Post Conference in New York City in June 2019. He spoke shortly after beginning his work as Director-General of Shaare Zedek Medical Center. Professor Merin is only the fifth person in that role since the Hospital’s founding in 1902.
He captivated the audience as he discussed his role as the head of Shaare Zedek Medical Center, the head of our Trauma Unit and the head of the IDF’s renowned mobile field hospital.
Prof. Merin shared that Shaare Zedek has over the last decade doubled the number of patients it treats annually and that the hospital is incorporating new technologies, building new facilities, introducing advanced technologies including a special MRI machine for premature babies, and increasing the use of robotics.
Professor Merin also described his experiences heading the IDF field hospital over the past fifteen years in numerous mass-casualty events around the world. He explained that Israel’s mobile field hospital has received the highest rating from the World Health Organization, for the standards that it maintains. However, he shared that in his opinion, “…what separates it from others, is our values, our ability to treat people with the proper dignity.”
Professor Merin also described the staff’s dedicated efforts in the hospital’s Trauma Unit, which frequently has to deal with harrowing cases of terror victims and their rehabilitation.
He closed his speech with a brief explanation of his own history as the son of a Holocaust survivor, quoting the Talmudic dictum, “Whosoever saves one life, saves the whole world,” and expressing that Shaare Zedek is steadfast in its efforts to maintain and save lives.
Read the Jerusalem Post’s coverage here.
GalleryWomen’s Health Day 2019 Photos and Videos
Photos and videos from the 2019 Women’s Health Day and Luncheon Honoring Paula Lev, held on Wednesday, June 5 at The Pierre in New York City.
Click For Complete Photo File
VIDEOS: Heart Disease: #1 Killer of Women | Preventing and Treating Common Injuries | Beating Biology: Egg Freezing and Surrogacy | Caring for Aging Parents or Serious Illness
GalleryHeartbeat, Spring 2019
Click for the latest issue of Heartbeat, the magazine of the American Committee for Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.
https://www.flipsnack.com/ShaareZedek/heartbeat-spring-2019.html
GalleryInjecting Hope: Shaare Zedek on Cutting Edge of Assisted Reproductive Technologies
Deep inside Jerusalem’s Shaare Zedek Medical Center, a dedicated team of doctors, technicians, and geneticists, armed with an alphabet soup of treatments with names like IVF, PGD and PGS, spend their days helping couples overcome serious fertility issues. Shaare Zedek, which has been providing medical care to Jerusalem since 1902, is on the cutting edge of assisted reproductive technologies, making the miraculous seem almost routine.
Prof. Jonathan Halevy, who stepped down in March 2019 as director-general at Shaare Zedek, explains, “At Shaare Zedek, we have created an infrastructure able to recognize the potential for new medical technologies and find ways to integrate them for the benefit of our patients. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) and preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) are prime examples of this approach.”
According to the hospital, Kupot Holim medical organizations in Israel cover the cost of IVF and PGD fertility treatments until the couple has up to two children via these procedures. Other countries are much more restrictive in the amount of IVF treatments that are offered, and costs are much higher – a situation that Halevy says has helped make Israel an innovator in these technologies.
The IVF process involves three stages: ovarian stimulation, which increases the number of eggs; egg retrieval and fertilization using sperm in a lab environment; and embryo transfer into the uterus, which results in pregnancy. Of the hundreds of IVF procedures that are performed each year at Shaare Zedek, 75% are performed for couples who have difficulty conceiving. The remaining 25% of the IVF procedures are associated with PGD.
First developed in 1990, PGD allows doctors to perform genetic profiling of embryos prior to implantation and is used to prevent certain genetic diseases or disorders from being passed on to the child. more >
GalleryChanging of the Guard: Prof. Halevy Steps Down as Director-General; Prof. Merin Steps Up
At midnight on March 1, 2019, Professor Jonathan Halevy stepped down as the hospital’s Director-General and Professor Ofer Merin, previously Deputy Director-General and Director of Trauma Services assumed the hospital’s directorship. He is just the fifth person to hold that job in the Hospital’s more than 117-year history. Professor Halevy, who is widely credited with managing Shaare Zedek’s rise to become one of Israel’s top hospitals, will continue his involvement in numerous management issues including development and fundraising.
During his final week in the position, Professor Halevy visited all of the medical departments and support units and thanked the staff for their dedication and hard work that made the hospital so successful. Professor Halevy also addressed hundreds of current and former hospital employees as well as friends and family at the weekly Clinical Conference. So many members of the staff wanted to attend this session that three additional viewing areas were set up around the hospital. During his presentation, Professor Halevy said that his professional accomplishments were a result of the partnership with Shaare Zedek’s staff. In addition, an exhibition of photos detailing his life and career were on display throughout the hospital. The week concluded with a farewell luncheon in the hospital cafeteria for all staff.
When Professor Halevy assumed the position of Director-General in 1988, Shaare Zedek was considered a small community hospital well-known for its compassion for patients. During his tenure, he oversaw the opening of 26 new medical units. Today, Shaare Zedek offers care across all major medical disciplines and treats over 800,000 cases per year. The inpatient care rate over the last three decades multiplied by 469% while outpatient care went up by a remarkable 2,221%.
Under Prof. Halevy’s leadership, Shaare Zedek more >