Last year, grants from The Fellowship helped Shaare Zedek Medical Center construct and equip two specialized operating rooms. These rooms focus on trauma care and include one hybrid and one advanced operating room. As the only major medical center in central Jerusalem, it is essential that the hospital be equipped with the latest technology to handle multiple treatments and operations during emergency situations.
The inauguration ceremony for the new rooms was held last week, with our President and Global CEO, Yael Eckstein, unveiling an IFCJ plaque dedicating them to Fellowship Founder Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, z”l.
The hybrid trauma room is one of the most advanced in Israel. Appropriately named, it allows multiple types of trauma surgeries to be performed while simultaneously conducting imaging tests for cardiac, neurological, and vascular catheterizations. These procedures can take place at the same time without moving the patient. Typically, patients must be transferred between three different units. Here, everything is in one room.
“This hybrid operating room will give us the privilege to stabilize bleeding trauma patients faster,” said trauma unit head Dr. Alon Schwartz. “The Fellowship’s support helps make this possible.”
The advanced trauma operating room specializes in more complex procedures. Because the state-of-the-art machines are larger, only one operation can be performed at a time, unlike in the hybrid operating room. The Fellowship’s grant also covered renovations to the hospital’s recovery and waiting rooms.
“These (surgical units) are going to be saving the lives of the people of Israel from soldiers to terror victims to car accident victims,” Yael said after the ceremony. “This is going to save lives, and you have given that gift. Hineh lo yanum ve’elo yishan shomer Yisrael, the guardianof Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps and you have partnered with that guardian of Israel to make sure that there are always watchman on the walls – here to save lives.”
“Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me” (Psalm 30:2).
