The American Friends of the Herzog Hospital

Children’s Respiratory Services Expand

afherzog — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:17:15 +0000

The Children’s Respiratory Unit was opened three years ago and has already grown to care for over 20 children, ranging in age from 3 months to 17 years. It is the only service of its kind for children in need of long term respiratory care in the Jerusalem area and one of only two in Israel. Due to an ever increasing demand, the Hospital plans to allocate an entire floor in the new Samson Medical Pavilion for children who need the specialized chronic respiratory care provided at Herzog. There is an immediate need to purchase additional ventilators, monitors, special beds and cribs and other medical equipment suitable for children

45% of Children under Age 6 in Sderot Suffer from Trauma

afherzog — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 21:15:48 +0000

New research conducted by Herzog’s Psychotrauma Center, has shown that parents suffering from trauma and anxiety, have children with motor and psychological development problems. This research as well as other important information and workshops were presented at the 4th International Conference on Trauma in Early Childhood, organized by the Psychotrauma Center, held in Jerusalem. The conference was co-sponsored by the Jewish Family & Children’s Services of San Francisco and the School of Social Work at the Hebrew University. The Trauma Center has developed treatment modalities as a result of its research to treat the 45% of children between the ages of 2 to 6, who are suffering from trauma. As a further indication of its expertise in the field, the Trauma Center organized a three week course for overseas students attending the Rothberg International School of the Hebrew University. This is the second year in which the course has been offered, giving participants a broad picture of the latest developments in the trauma field and its application within Israeli society, as well as the international community

The New Editha and Dr. Heinz E. Samson Medical Pavilion

afherzog — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 18:18:02 +0000

Dr. Heinz E. Samson and his wife Editha, have made a major donation to Herzog Hospital to construct a new medical Pavilion. The Editha and Dr. Heinz E. Samson Medical Pavilion will add approximately another 240 urgently needed beds to Herzog Hospital to help meet the growing health care needs in the Jerusalem area in the 21st century, especially for the elderly.

The Samson Pavilion will comprise patient floors and basement levels. The floors will house a number of departments, including an expanded Department of Psychogeriatrics (catering mainly to patients with dementias such as Alzheimer’s Disease), an expanded respiratory care unit for children and additions to the Adult Respiratory Unit, which is the largest in Israel. Other departments will include Internal Medicine/Acute Geriatric Medicine, Complex Nursing Care, Dialysis and other departments as need dictates.

An underground Emergency Hospital, to house and treat the patients in their beds during an attack, will be constructed in one of the basement levels. It will be built as part of an underground parking lot and will be equipped accordingly using the latest protective equipment. This is a direct result of the Second Lebanon War and recent Gaza conflict, as building requirements for hospitals have been revised to include expanded shelters for the protection of patients from rocket fire. This additional reinforcement adds considerably to the construction costs. In addition, an expanded Radiology Suite and a Synagogue will be built into the side of the mountain on one of the hospitalization floors and will also double as a shelter in case of attack. There are numerous dedication opportunities available. Please contact the Development Department of the Hospital to identify ways in which you can help.

UJA Federation of NY Takes the Lead

afherzog — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:16:24 +0000

For over three years now, UJA Federation of NY has been the catalytic force in highlighting the need to provide psychological counseling to the victims of terror in Israel. They were the early supporters of Herzog’s Israel Center for the Treatment of Psychotrauma. They have provided major funding for every one of the Trauma Center initiatives. They have helped fund programs to establish a national trauma network; educational programs in the schools; a coalition of trauma agencies throughout Israel; a trauma resources guide for the public in Hebrew, Russian and English; a trauma website, and most recently, the METIV-Walk-In Crisis Center. Cheryl Fishbein, Chairman of the UJA Caring Commission, which has so generously supported the work of the Trauma Center, work led a delegation at the dedication ceremony of METIV

Newly Renovated Respiratory Department

afherzog — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 21:06:51 +0000

The growth of the Long Term Respiratory Facility to meet increasing demand has created the necessity for us to renovate and expand the ward. What started as a 4 bed unit 3 years ago, at the request the Israel Ministry of Health, has now grown to 34 beds. The Ministry recognizes the Hospital’s specialization and successes in this field of health care, and routinely refers additional patients to us. Most patients are conscious, sitting up in bed, watching TV, but require respirators to help them breathe. Two weddings and a bris have already been held at patient’s bedsides. With specially trained doctors and nurses, patients are worked with to try to help them breathe for periods of time on their own. Several patients have actually been weaned from total reliance on the machines. In two cases, patients actually recovered sufficiently to be released and sent home. Special closed circuit television has also been installed, so that all patients can be seen visually as well as through the central medical monitoring system at the department’s central nurses’ station. This way, staff can immediately respond to any patient emergency. This is the only Respiratory Unit in Israel to offer such constant and close monitoring of patients.