Special and last Announcement by Prof. Zeev Rotstein
“2015 was a year filled with challenges and events – a year with considerable achievements:
* We inaugurated the new unit for young oncology patients in the Cancer Center, with the beautiful fourth floor garden, and also the new oncology department. These are two extraordinary departments, patient-friendly in their design for the benefit of not only the young cancer patients but also for their families and the devoted medical staff.
* We moved two pediatric departments to their new and impressive location in the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital. These departments are focused on their suitability for hospitalized children and their families, and they were designed in a relaxed atmosphere to provide the children and parents with a friendly and soothing ambience. This kind of environment enables the medical staff to treat their patients at the highest possible professional level.
Both, the new oncological departments and the pediatric departments are a dream come true.
In 2015, we made a quantum leap in regard to the quality index requirements of the Ministry of Health.:
* The heart catheterization index of 90 minutes from arrival of patients with acute myocardial infarction at the hospital improved from 58.2% to 88.1% (the target number of the ministry of health is 80%).
* The index of 65-year-old and older patients who arrived with a hip fracture and underwent surgery within the first 48 hours went up from 46% to 84.2% (the target number of the ministry of health is 80%).
* The risk evaluation index of venous thrombosis within the first 48 hours went up to 94.6% (the target number of the ministry of health is 80%).
* The index of nutrition performance estimation within the first 36 hours of hospitalization in the geriatric departments was achieved with 100% in each of the first three quarters of 2015.
* Also the index for pain evaluation of geriatric patients during the first 12 hours of their hospitalization was achieved with 100% in each of the first three quarters of 2015. Big chapeau for our nursing staff!
Kind words of appreciation:
* To Prof. Shlomo Noy, Vice-President for Research and Development at Sheba, and to Prof. Anat Achiron, Vice-Dean, for finalizing the Council of Higher Education’s approval process for a 4-year program for the medical school, a joint project of Sheba, the Tel Aviv University, the St. Georges University of London, and the University of Nicosia.
* To Prof. Gal Markel, the youngest professor in Israel and the chief scientist of the Ella Institute for Melanoma and Skin Cancer Research and Treatment, who is responsible for the development of a new and revolutionary medication – CKAM1 – that was sold to “Merck”, one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in the world, and that might change the face of the fight against cancer. Prof. Markel already gained a series of impressive clinical and research achievements, as befits a member of our prestigious “Talpiot Program” for the development of the future generation of leaders in the field of medicine and medical research.
* To Prof. Aviram Nissan, Head of the Surgery C Department, who significantly elevated the hospital in the field of peritoneum cavity malignancies. Together with Prof. Motti Gutman and Dr. Aviad Hoffman, Prof. Nissan performed close to 100 such surgeries in 2015. These surgeries combine radical removal of metastases in the abdomen followed by rinsing with heated chemotherapy. As a result, one third of the patients are cured and the live expectancy of another third is prolonged.
* To Dr. Yael Henkin, Head of the Audiology Institute, who led the cochlear implant program to grow into the biggest one in Israel. In 2015, the institute crossed the threshold of 1,000 cochlear implants. To date, 900 implant patients are treated at Sheba.
Sheba’s business card for 2015:
* Emergency Room Visits – 186,641
* Outpatient Clinics Visits – 1,518,213
* Ambulatory Examinations – 3,962,449
* Hospitalization Admissions – 97,080
* Hospitalization Days – 602,440
* Surgeries – 46,531
* Dialysis Treatments – 44,603
* CT Examinations – 71,049
* MRI Examinations – 31,437
* Laboratory Examinations – 33,203,310
New beginnings:
* We have laid the cornerstone for the Immune Oncology Institute. The new institute will be a professional leap forward for the hospital and will allow us to start advanced immunology treatments in cancer diseases, including patients’ cell polymers (CAR) against the cancer cells.
* We took upon ourselves the great challenge of building a new and modern Emergency Center at Sheba. It was simply impossible to continue with the old and small facility that can’t absorb any longer the tremendous patient-flow of tens of thousands of people arriving at the emergency room. And yes, during the coming months we will still have to suffer the present conditions forced upon us by the construction works. One thing I can promise, after this project is finished, towards the end of 2016, Sheba will have a new and outstanding two-story Emergency Center, appropriate for Israel’s leading hospital.
* Construction works are in full speed at the OB/GYN departments. In a few months we are looking forward to inaugurate the central lobby of this facility. Even senior Sheba personnel will have problems recognizing the building after the construction process and the facelift we are giving this building. Soon Sheba will have a modern, pleasant and well-equipped OB/GYN facility.
Many times during the 12 years as director and CEO of the Sheba Medical Center I have said and written to my Sheba staff that they are a very special breed – highly qualified, professional, caring and devoted. This moved me time after time again and gave me the necessary strength to fight for our hospital and worry for resources that propelled it forward towards new record achievements and abilities. We need to continue and justify who we are: Israel’s leading hospital!