The Minister of Health MK Uriel Bosso visited Herzog Medical Center in Jerusalem, together with a professional delegation from the Israeli Health Ministry’s senior management team, which includes, among others, Deputy Director General Sefi Mendelovitch, Head of the Mental Health Division – Dr. Gilad Bodenheimer, Head of the Geriatrics Division – Dr. Irit Laxer, and Head of Physiotherapy at the Ministry – Liat Shik Nave, a Physiotherapist. The Minister and his staff were very impressed with Herzog Medical Center’s ongoing operations especially during the current War.
The visit was intended to showcase Herzog Medical Center’s professional expertise in mental health, geriatrics and rehabilitation as well as survey the Medical Center’s existing infrastructure for expansion and its ability to provide an impactful response to Israel’s immediate and long-term health needs.
Shamai Keinan, the Chairman of Herzog’s Executive Committee (which is the public body that manages Herzog voluntarily), together with Dr. Kobi Haviv Herzog Medical Center’s Director General, and Orna Cohen, the Deputy Director General toured the medical center with the Minister and his staff.
The Minister heard an overview of Herzog’s new rehabilitation wing, one of the largest in Israel, located in the Samson Medical Pavilion, which was built several years ago. A great deal of thought and planning went into the new building’s construction along with high-quality and advanced equipment in order to promote patients’ overall therapeutic rehabilitation.
The Minister was very impressed with the rehabilitation division’s professionalism, dedication and exceptional therapeutic approach, with patients receiving round-the-clock care throughout the day without the need of having to leave the Medical Center’s multi-disciplined care environment.
This option, unlike other hospitals, exists thanks to the fact that treatment rooms in various rehabilitation fields (physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and others) are located within the division’s department’s themselves.
During the visit to the Rehabilitation Division, the Minister learned that due to the high demand for rehabilitation beds, young patients who have recently been referred to Herzog by their HMOs have also begun to be admitted to the Division.
From right: Dr. Yaakov Haviv, Shamai Keinan, , Minister of Health, Orna Cohen, Dr. Sefi Mendelovitch
The Minister of Health, his staff and the hospital staff
Later in the tour, the Minister was very impressed by the extensive mental health coverage provided by Herzog Medical Center.
Dr. Haviv briefed the Minister about the services of the Mental Health Division, which include: an emergency room, two inpatient psychiatric departments for men and a women’s psychiatric department in an old building with poor hospitalization conditions, as well as an ambulatory center in a new mental health clinic building, including: a clinic for children and youth, a clinic for young adults, a clinic for adults and a psychogeriatric mental health clinic, as well as the METIV Center (the veteran Israeli center for psycho-trauma).
Dr. Haviv and Ms. Orna Cohen emphasized to the Minister that Herzog’s extensive experience and comprehensive package of professional mental health services will enable the Medical Center’s expansion and response to the acute demand for mental health services in the Jerusalem area and throughout the country. They asked that the Israeli Health Ministry help with the budget for the construction of a new mental health hospitalization building, for which donations are currently being raised around the world.
The visit also included the entrance to a new dialysis complex, which is expected to open soon, with 26 dialysis stations, and next to it an extensive emergency complex with 200 hospital beds!
In closing, the Chairman of Herzog’s Executive committee Shamai Keinan thanked the Minister for the visit with the professionals from the Ministry’s senior management team, and for the warm words and compliments he lavished, and asked him for help in accelerating decisions in the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Finance in order to develop, promote and prioritize mental health and rehabilitation services at Herzog Medical Center, against the backdrop of the October 7th War and its impact on Israel’s public health system.