Sort
Charity Number: 1143272
Shaare Zedek
4 Theobald Court
Theobald Street, Borehamwood Hertfordshire WD6 4RN
020 8201 8933
shaarezedek.org.uk
Jerusalem’s Hospital with a Heart
In the immediate aftermath of the October 7th attacks, Shaare Zedek established a Mental Health Emergency Room to treat those affected by the horrifying events.
The staff understood that such a significant incident would lead to unusual stress, anxiety, post-trauma, and depression, requiring professional mental health intervention as soon as possible.
The Mental Health Emergency Room was opened adjacent to the hospital’s main emergency room. This model was initiated by Naomi Maimon-Elder, a trauma unit psychologist, after the Meron disaster in 2021. From their experience, the hospital knew how crucial immediate intervention was for addressing various mental health reactions.
As Director General of Shaare Zedek, Professor Merin shared: “When the news began to trickle through in those early morning hours, we were already preparing, setting up an emergency centre, a family call centre, nurse and doctor logistics, and priming all departments in the Medical Centre with the sole aim of providing solutions to whatever challenges our patients and staff were about to face.”
The spirit of Shaare Zedek has continued since that fateful day. Despite the excruciating pain and profound mourning for those murdered and wounded, a sense of unity prevails throughout the hospital. MDA Medevac and military
helicopters regularly land on an adjacent football field that has become the hospital helipad and sadly the regular flow of wounded soldiers continue to arrive at Shaare Zedek.
On October 8th, Professor Merin assembled a working group of Jewish and Arab staff who formalised rules for conduct inside the hospital and on social media. For example, it was acceptable to mourn a loved one but not to demonize the other side or call for revenge. The hospital also assisted in getting permits for staff members to enter Jerusalem from the West Bank despite the general clampdown on such crossings.
The hospital has had to adapt, providing care for their own teams and supporting staff members who have lost loved ones. They have also brought in additional support staff to replace over 200 employees who are in the reserves. Life since October 7th, 2023, has been excruciatingly difficult, but one message is clear: the compassionate spirit of Shaare Zedek endures, and the hospital remains Jerusalem’s Hospital with a Heart.
You make a difference
Every day at Shaare Zedek, our doctors and nurses make life-saving decisions that profoundly impact countless lives. This year alone, thanks to your support, amongst the many lives we’ve saved, are a fragile premature baby, a grandparent newly diagnosed with cancer, and a devastated terror victim. Your generous donations to Shaare Zedek UK have given hope to these individuals and thousands more, offering them a brighter future.
Since October 7th 2023 we have received 5247 donations, raising over £2m to support the life saving work of Shaare Zedek Medical Center
Some of the equipment your donations have purchased:
ECG Machines
Ventilators for premature babies Your contributions have directly aided:
1. The expansion of our emergency services
2. The enhancement of neonatal care
3. Life-saving treatments in the oncology and cardiology departments
Mobile X-Rays
Ultrasound Machines
Tools that make a real difference every single day.
Although this past year has been marked by war, your continued support has been a beacon of hope, helping Shaare Zedek to treat hundreds of wounded civilians and soldiers in our care.
Become a Patron of Shaare Zedek UK
Our Major Donors are the backbone of Shaare Zedek UK, giving a minimum annual donation of £3,000.
Our purpose is to raise funds for the life saving work of Shaare Zedek Medical Centre in Jerusalem.
The hospital has been a part of the Jerusalem landscape since 1902, and since October 7th 2023, we have seen just how vital the services provided by Shaare Zedek Medical Centre really are to all of Israel.
The U.K. community’s generosity is truly unmatched by any other, and we are lucky enough to have an invested group of Patrons aiding in our mission, ’Hope for us, hope for Israel, hope for the world’.
Please consider joining one of our committed giving programmes and be part of something incredible.
By joining a giving programme your engagement and support will help us purchase the very best equipment, plan growth and development of the hospital and most importantly save lives.
LEVELS OF PATRONAGE FRIENDS
A minimum contribution of £3,000 per year
PATRON
A minimum contribution of £7,500 per year
BENEFACTOR
A minimum contribution of £25,000 per year
A pioneering model of thriving coexistence
Since 7 October 2023, I’d had a longing to be in Israel. I recall stories of people rushing to Israel in 1967 – as the country came under attack – in the hope of helping in some way. So, in May 2024 it was my turn.
When planning my visit, I wanted to meet as many people and experience as many new things as possible. I got in touch with Katie Korklin from the Shaare Zedek UK office and asked her to help me arrange a visit to Shaare Zedek in Jerusalem. I was keen to understand how the hospital has adapted since the 7th of October and learn more broadly about its pioneering work in medical research and technology.
At the hospital, my guide was Audrey Gross who works in the Resource Development and Public Affairs department. Thanks to Audrey’s warmth, hospitality, knowledge and patience – what was initially meant to be a twohour visit, turned into an incredible fourhour tour of the hospital!
Melting pot
One of the things that struck me most, while walking around the 10-storey hospital – including three floors built underground, into the rocky hills of Jerusalem – was the diversity of staff and patients wherever I looked. Israeli Arabs serve alongside Israeli Jews, while patients from both communities benefit from the amazing healthcare provided by Shaare Zedek. All signs are in Hebrew, Arabic and English, ensuring all communities can navigate the hospital.
From the layout of the hospital to the medical clowns, to the strategic planning in the event of major catastrophes (pandemic, war, chemical attack), to alternative therapies and walls adorned with beautiful art and photography, Shaare Zedek is a magnificent endeavour.
World-leading cancer treatment
Walking towards the hospital, you can’t avoid noticing the new Cancer Centre on the campus. It captures your attention immediately. A striking building from the outside, reminiscent of a butterfly, thanks to its beautiful glass roof adorned with Austrian wood.
The centre provides treatments and diagnostics for oncology patients, using the most advanced technologies in the world implemented by state-ofthe-art equipment.
In addition, the psychological wellbeing of patients is one of the most important factors in the building’s design. “Advanced technology is supplemented by beautiful architecture, designed to allow loads of natural light into the building’s core, which creates an environment of calm for patients and their carers allowing them to be in the most positive mindset
possible when they arrive for treatment or appointments,” Audrey explained to me.
Prepared for any eventuality
I also heard incredible stories of how soldiers have received life-saving surgery at Shaare Zedek since the war broke out. Helicopters land on a local football pitch, before the soldiers are whisked away by ambulance into the hospital for lifesaving surgery or other critical care.
Such scenarios are ones that Shaare Zedek has always been prepared for, alongside terrorist attacks or other major disasters. In the weeks after the 7th October, the hospital’s basement was rapidly converted into a state-of-the-art
facility, with capacity for hundreds of patients and staff, including incubators for newborn babies. To date the facility hasn’t been needed thanks to Israel’s incredible air defence system protecting the country, but sadly it is there should an evacuation of Shaare Zedek’s top floors ever be needed.
It was a privilege to see this vibrant and pioneering medical centre in action, understand how it serves the needs of the local population, treats military personnel injured in battle and how it continues to push the boundaries of medical innovation.
Damian Schogger Supporter of Shaare Zedek UK
New Life
Since the war started, Shaare Zedek has experienced a recordbreaking number of births. Midwife Jodi Stender shared with us, what it’s been like for her since October 7th.
“As the news filled with grim reports of death and carnage, I continued to bring new, innocent and beautiful life into this world and the spirituality and hope felt in the delivery room has intensified enormously. The labouring women of Israel post Oct 7th are ‘Wonder Women’. The strength I have seen them demonstrate while birthing, as their husbands fought to protect the country, as their families were transplanted from their homes to safer areas, and as the sirens roared around them, is remarkable.”
Jodi supported a woman from one of the southern communities, who spent 15 hours in her safe room with her
An incubator in our Neonatal Intensive Care Unit costs £23,300. Your donations could help support new life at
Shaare Zedek
Prices based on current exchange rate and subject to change
children during the October 7 infiltration. She was rescued and evacuated with her family to a hotel in Jerusalem. A day later she went into labour with her seventh child at Shaare Zedek. This birth was a different experience for her. She was exhausted and it became apparent that she needed permission and support to acknowledge her stressful experience and to take an epidural to help her relax. She then gave birth to a beautiful healthy baby.
Another woman arrived at the hospital right after October 7 really on edge. She kept saying: "I just can’t have a baby now, there’s a war. How am I going to bring this baby into the world now?"
Jodi explained that babies arrive at the time that's best for both mother and child. If now is the right time, it will happen. "As a midwife, my role is to support each woman in a way that suits her needs. I may be a mother figure, a friend, or simply a quiet presence in the room."
Jodi says that her work at Shaare Zedek has taken on a new meaning. “It’s a privilege to be part of such an incredible team during these challenging circumstances.”
Right place right time
One morning, Dr Amir Orlev, Director of Cardiology at Shaare Zedek Medical Center, encountered a man in distress on his way to work. Ignored by passersby, Dr Orlev and his wife approached the man, Chaim, who had fainted and sustained a head injury. Using his portable oxygen saturation device, Dr Orlev detected low oxygen levels and immediately called an ambulance.
Upon arrival at Shaare Zedek, Dr Orlev accompanied Chaim into the Emergency Room. “Very quickly, doctors diagnosed that he was suffering from a blood clot in his leg that had travelled to his lungs. Various tests and an echocardiogram revealed he needed to be transferred to cardiac intensive care immediately, and the
large clot in his pulmonary artery needed to be removed as soon as possible.”
Dr Orlev, along with Professor Danny Dvir and Professor Elad Asher, performed a life-saving procedure to remove the clot. Chaim’s condition soon stabilised, and he was able to be discharged.
Reflecting on the incident, Dr Orlev urged the public to assist those in distress and call emergency services immediately, emphasising that quick action can save lives.
Chaim, a tour guide, expressed profound gratitude for the care he received. “I’ve travelled all over the world and seen many hospitals, and I’ve never been treated as well as in Shaare Zedek. Luckily, Dr Orlev saw me and helped me. It’s funny because we’re neighbours living across the street from each other, and we’ve never met. I thank from the bottom of my heart Dr Orlev and all the medical staff in the cardiology department for saving my life.”
The main artery and beating heart of Jerusalem
Shaare Zedek Medical Center stands as a beacon of hope in central Jerusalem. Experts from all over the country choose to work at ‘the gates of justice’ offering the most advanced medical care, combined with compassion and kindness to all.
In conversation with Professor Ofer Merin, he explains what makes Shaare Zedek so special and the first choice for both patients and medical professionals.
“Jerusalem is the largest city in the country, and we are located in the centre of it, so every urgent medical case comes to us immediately. The cities and towns around Jerusalem have tripled in size. If I put the map of Jerusalem in front of you and ask you to point to its centre, that’s exactly where Shaare Zedek is located and that’s why its centrality is so great.”
Every second counts
As a veteran heart surgeon, Professor Merin has seen significant advancements in recent years.
The hospital has become a leading centre for ECMO treatments in acute cardiac arrest cases. Treatment for heart attacks now involves immediate catheterisation upon a patient’s arrival, and treatment has changed for stroke patients who are now expedited to minimise the possibly brain damage.*
Fifteen years ago, Professor Merin established the hospital’s trauma unit, now Jerusalem’s largest. “Our skilled staff, due to high patient volumes, have gained leadership and excellence at the national level,” he said.
“When every second counts and the leading experts are at Shaare Zedek with quick access, there is no doubt that we have become the preferred destination for the rescue organisations.”
Attracting the Best Experts
Shaare Zedek places a strong emphasis on investing in its medical, nursing, and administrative staff, ensuring they have the best conditions and environment. Professor Merin explained, “We empower our human resources. High patient volumes attract experts seeking professional challenges, leading to excellence. When professionals want to work with us, patients follow.”
From the hospitals integrated heart centre led by Professor Michael Glikson, which is one of the country’s largest, to the Orthopaedic Department, managed by Professor Amos Feizer, which has treated numerous war injuries,
*Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation (ECMO) is a life support procedure that temporarily takes over the function of the heart and lungs to help patients heal.
focusing on limb-saving surgeries, each department at Shaare Zedek has excellence at the heart of it.
Expansion and Innovation
“Shaare Zedek is the fastest-growing medical centre in the last decade in Israel,” shared Professor Merin and it is preparing for Jerusalem’s future growth. Within 15 years it is predicted that Jerusalem will have about 2 million inhabitants and therefore, the hospital is planning to add an 18-story, 900-bed hospital tower to meet the needs of the growing population. Work on this is already underway.
Professor Merin explained that innovation, led by Professor Dan Turner, VP of Research and Development at Shaare Zedek, has transformed the hospital and will continue to do so. “Medicine is now fully integrated with technology, research, and startups. We’ll soon open a new R&D centre and are collaborating with academic bodies, startups, and work incubators using our data. Google has been working with us on data research in various fields for a long time.”
Shaare Zedek continuously advances, embodying excellence and innovation. It is the beating heart of Jerusalem, providing top-tier medical care and encapsulates the spirit of resilience and compassion.
We need your support
The ongoing conflict has placed significant strain on the Israeli medical community.
At Shaare Zedek, the challenges are unlike anything encountered before, and there’s uncertainty about what the future holds. Fear and trauma are now a regular part of reality.
Your donation today can help us provide muchneeded equipment, enabling us to offer better care and support to those enduring unimaginable pain and suffering.
These are just some of the items your gift could go towards;
£38,400
£16,400
Prices based on current exchange rate and subject to change
“To everyone that donates, thank you, you have no idea how much it means to us, knowing that you are thinking about us, gives us hope.”
Nurse in the Shaare Zedek NICU
support
If you would like to speak to us about a particular gift or area of interest please get in touch with oshrit@shaarezedek.org.uk
