Hadassah Medical Center facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Hadassah Medical Center |
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| Geography | |
| Location | Ein Karem, Jerusalem |
| Organisation | |
| Care system | Private |
| Hospital type | Teaching, District General |
| Affiliated university | Hebrew University of Jerusalem |
| Patron | Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America |
| Services | |
| Emergency department | Yes |
| Beds | 1,044 |
| History | |
| Founded | 1934 |
The Hadassah Medical Center (Hebrew: הָמֶרְכָּז הָרְפוּאִי הֲדַסָּה) is a famous medical organization in Israel. It was started in 1934. Hadassah runs two large university hospitals in Jerusalem. One hospital is in Ein Karem and the other is in Mount Scopus.
Hadassah also has schools for medicine, dentistry, nursing, and pharmacy. These schools work with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Hadassah's main goal is to help everyone who needs it. They treat all patients, no matter their background or beliefs.
The hospital was founded by the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America. This group still helps pay for a big part of the hospital's costs today. Hadassah Medical Center is one of the largest hospital complexes in Israel. Across its two locations, it has over 1,300 beds. It also has 31 operating rooms and nine special intensive care units.
Contents
The History of Hadassah Medical Center
Early Beginnings (1912–1915)
The Hadassah organization began in 1912 in New York City. Its first goal was to provide healthcare in Jerusalem, which was then part of the Ottoman Empire. In 1913, Hadassah sent two nurses to Palestine. They opened a small health center in Jerusalem. This center offered care for new mothers and treated trachoma. Trachoma was a serious eye disease common in the Middle East.
During World War I, the Ottoman government suspected Jewish people of supporting their enemies. Because of this, the Hadassah Nurses station had to close in 1915.
Growing Healthcare in Palestine (1918–1948)
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In 1918, Hadassah created the American Zionist Medical Unit (AZMU). This unit had 45 medical experts. The AZMU helped set up six hospitals in Palestine. These hospitals were later given to local city leaders. The Meir Rothschild Hospital opened in Jerusalem in 1918. That same year, Hadassah also started a nursing school. This school trained local people to become nurses.
In 1919, Hadassah began the first School Hygiene Department in Palestine. This department gave regular health checks to children in Jerusalem schools. During the Arab riots of 1920, Hadassah nurses helped people who were hurt on both sides. Henrietta Szold moved to Jerusalem that year. She worked to create community health and prevention programs.
In 1921, a Hadassah nurse named Bertha Landsman opened the first Tipat Halav center. This center in Jerusalem provided care for mothers and babies. Hadassah also opened a hospital in Tel Aviv that year. The next year, they started a hospital in Haifa. In 1926, Hadassah opened the first center to treat tuberculosis in Safed. In 1929, the Nathan and Lina Straus Health Center opened in Jerusalem.
In the 1930s, plans began for a new hospital. It would replace the Rothschild hospital on Street of the Prophets in Jerusalem. Rose Halprin, a leader of Hadassah, moved to Jerusalem. She helped connect the American office with Hadassah in Palestine. The Rothschild-Hadassah University Hospital opened on May 9, 1939. It was the first teaching hospital and medical center in Palestine.
The Hadassah Medical Organization also ran a clinic in Hebron. This clinic, called Beit Hadassah, had three floors. It included an infirmary, a pharmacy, and a synagogue. Both Jewish and Arab people received free care there. The building was built in 1893. It was originally called the Chesed L'Avraham clinic. In 1929, it was a site of the tragic 1929 Hebron massacre.
The British Royal Commission, called the Peel Commission, praised Hadassah's work in its 1937 report. They noted that Hadassah's medical services helped all communities in Palestine. Many poor Arab people received much help from the organization.
The Hadassah Hospital on Mount Scopus opened in 1939. However, it had to close in 1948 due to conflict.
Challenges and Growth (1948–1967)
After the 1948 war, Mount Scopus, where Hadassah Hospital was located, became an Israeli exclave. This meant it was a small area of Israel surrounded by another country. Only a few Israeli soldiers guarded it. All medical activities at the campus had to stop. The medical staff moved to different places in West Jerusalem to continue their work. In 1961, a new medical complex was built in Ein Karem. This area is on the edge of Jerusalem.
Reopening and Recognition (After 1967)
During the Six-Day War, Israel took control of the area around Mount Scopus. The old medical campus was then reopened. Today, both Hadassah campuses are active. The Ein Karem facilities are much larger and more important.
In 2005, Hadassah was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This was to recognize how it treated all patients equally. It did not matter what their background or religion was. Hadassah also worked to build peace between different groups.
French singer David Serero performed concerts at the hospital. He sang for Israeli and Palestinian children in 2011, 2012, and 2013.
In 2014, the hospital faced financial difficulties. The Israeli court approved a temporary halt to payments to help the hospital recover.
Starting in 2018, Hadassah Medical Center began opening a branch in Skolkovo, Russia. This project aimed to bring Hadassah's medical knowledge to Moscow. A part of the money earned there will support cancer research.
In 2021, Professor Yoram G. Weiss became the new CEO of Hadassah Medical Center.
Mount Scopus Campus
The building of the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus began in 1934. After five years, the hospital opened in 1939. It was designed by the famous architect Erich Mendelsohn.
In March 1947, a leader of Arab forces in Jerusalem threatened the hospital. Attacks were made on vehicles going to and from the hospital. On April 13, 1948, a group of doctors, nurses, and staff were attacked on their way to the hospital. This tragic event was called the Hadassah medical convoy massacre. Seventy-eight people were killed.
After the 1949 armistice agreement, Mount Scopus became a neutral zone. It was impossible to run the hospital there. So, the staff moved to temporary places in Jerusalem. Later, a new campus was built in Ein Karem.
After the Six-Day War, Hadassah Mount Scopus was greatly renovated. It reopened in 1975. This hospital has over 300 beds and 30 departments. It also has a rehabilitation building and a hospice. The hospital serves all people in Jerusalem. More than one-third of the patients are Arab. In 2011, the Israeli-American actress Natalie Portman helped raise money for the hospital. She was born at Hadassah Mount Scopus. Dr. Tamar Elram currently leads Hadassah Mount-Scopus. It has a staff of 1,200 people.
Ein Karem Campus
From 1948 to 1962, Hadassah hospital worked from rented buildings in five different places in Jerusalem. In 1961, a new medical center was built in Ein Karem. This area is in southwest Jerusalem. The Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America again helped with money. Ein Karem was chosen because it was hard to find a suitable place in the city center. Also, Hadassah owned a large piece of land there. The hospital was designed by Joseph Neufeld. He was a pioneer of International Style architecture in Israel.
Before a new 19-story hospital tower opened in 2012, Hadassah Ein Karem had 700 beds for patients. The hospital complex has 22 buildings. These include the Hebrew University of Jerusalem schools for medicine, dentistry, nursing, public health, and pharmacology.
Professor Yoram G. Weiss is the director of Hadassah. Important doctors there include Avraham Rivkind, who leads the trauma center. Ahmed Eid heads the liver and kidney transplant unit. Arie Eldad leads the plastic surgery and burns unit.
In March 2007, the American billionaire William Davidson gave $75 million to the hospital. In 2012, the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower opened. It has 500 beds and 20 operating rooms.
In 2008, Prime Minister John Key of New Zealand also made a donation to the hospital.
In April 2009, the hospital opened a fertility clinic for AIDS patients. This was the first such clinic in Israel. Professor Shlomo Ma'ayan leads this clinic.
Chagall Windows
The synagogue at the Ein Karem campus has special stained glass windows. These windows show the twelve tribes of Israel. They were made by the famous artist Marc Chagall. Chagall wanted the synagogue to be like "a crown offered to the Jewish Queen." He saw the windows as "jewels of translucent fire." The windows were put in place in February 1962. At the opening ceremony, Chagall said the windows help people see the light of the Bible.
New Entrance Pavilion
In 2012, a new glass entrance building opened at the bottom of the Davidson Tower. All people entering the hospital now go through this pavilion. Next to the building are four "healing gardens." These gardens were designed by Shlomo Aronson. They use ideas from biophilic design. This idea suggests that nature and plants help human health.
Bio-park
Below the medical center is the Jerusalem Bio Park (JBP). This park is home to several biotechnology companies. One of them is Hadasit, which is Hadassah Medical Center's technology transfer company.
Notable People from Hadassah
Many important people have studied or worked at Hadassah. Here are a few:
- Aaron Ciechanover (born 1947): A biologist and winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.
- Avram Hershko (born 1937): A biochemist and Nobel Prize winner in Chemistry.
- Arie S. Belldegrun (born 1949): A director at UCLA and a professor of urologic oncology.
- Rivka Carmi (born 1948): A pediatrician and geneticist, and former President of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
- Yehuda Danon (born 1940): A doctor and former Surgeon General of the Israel Defense Forces.
- Avraham Steinberg (born 1947): A professor of Medical Ethics and a pediatric neurologist.
Branches
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Hadassah Medical Center in Skolkovo, Moscow.
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See also
- Health care in Israel
- Medical tourism in Israel
- List of hospitals in Israel
- Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America
