International Orthopedic Society Invites Hadassah Medical Organization as Member

The exclusive International Society of Orthopedic Centers (ISOC) has announced that it is expanding its membership to include one center in the Middle East: the Hadassah Medical Organization.

“The global election of Hadassah’s orthopedic complex by ISOC,” comments Interim Director General of HMO Professor Tamar Peretz, “brings an international spotlight to its excellence and contribution to the development of medicine in Israel and throughout the world. We congratulate Prof. Iri Liebergall, head of Orthopedics, and his outstanding staff for their trailblazing work in treatment and research.”

The ISOC was founded in 2006 to pool international knowledge and create a brain trust that would focus on quality management systems in a world where demand for orthopedic care outstrips supply. “The greatest experts in orthopedics in the world sit at the table and share issues and learn from each other,” notes Founding Executive Director Dr. Thomas P. Sculco of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York.

“We want to have collaboration stretch across not just clinical, but also research and educational boundaries.” A further important aspect of ISOC’s cooperative effort, Dr. Sculco explains, is that residents are able to train at various top centers within a unified program.

When it was first founded, the ISOC limited its membership to 10 top centers. After its initial meeting, the group decided to expand its membership to have a broader representation from different cultures, but without compromising its rigorous standards. Member organizations must be specialty orthopedic hospitals or academic medical centers that have large orthopedic departments. They must perform a minimum of 5,000 orthopedic surgeries each year, have at least 20 orthopedic surgeons who do research and training, employ fellows and residents, and have an active research arm.

Hadassah’s reputation was boosted internationally by both breakthrough computer navigation in orthopedic surgery and the employment of stem cells in healing complex bone fractures. The large number of orthopedic surgeries performed at Hadassah, along with the capacity to treat terror victims with expertise and creativity attracted the attention of leading practitioners aroud the world.