Teaneck–Cong. Rinat Yisrael is raising funds to build an intensive care operating room underground at Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan. Spearheaded by member Bennet Deutsch, shul members have raised over $220,000 in pledges so far. Their goal is to make $300,000. Deutsch told JLBC he was humbled by the quick and generous response of the community. They are hoping to fund a complete operating suite.
Sheba Medical Center was originally Tel Hashomer, Israel’s first hospital, established in 1948. Initially used exclusively by the IDF, Sheba went public in 1953, and is now Israel’s largest hospital with 1400 doctors and 2600 nurses handling over 200,000 emergency visits each year. Tel Hashomer/Sheba is still Israel’s primary military hospital, and lately has been in the news for treating injured chayalim from Protective Edge.
During the Operation, Ramat Gan, a close suburb of target metropolis Tel Aviv, was subject to many air raids. For the average resident, the 90-second warning is usually sufficient to find shelter. But for Israel’s largest hospital, the situation has been trying. Life-saving surgeries can hardly be stopped, and hundreds of immobile patients cannot be brought to shelter in 90 seconds.
To create a safer, protected environment for the hospital personnel and patients, Sheba embarked on a huge expansion project in a different direction than most–they are adding subfloors instead of building towers. The first stage of the project is to build an underground operating theater. The complex will include eight standard operating suites and four larger ones for more complicated procedures, and will include an intensive care unit. While the work will not begin for a few more months, they are seeking benefactors to subsidize this critical project, costing upwards of $300,000 for each operating room. If all of the funds are collected in a timely manner, this project can be finished by late 2015.
For more information on this project, and to make a pledge to contribute to Tel Hashomer’s new underground operating room, please contact Bennet Deutsch at [email protected].
By Tzvi Silver
