Signing of the agreement on Hadassah recovery plan
On June 24th, Health Minister Yael German, HWZOA National President Marcie Natan, Acting Chair of the Board of the Medical Center Avi Balashnikov, and Acting Director General of HMO Prof. Tamar Peretz signed, the historic agreement for the recovery plan of Hadassah Medical Organization. The purpose of the agreement is to bring the hospital to a sustainable balanced budget. HWZOA will retain ownership and board control of the hospital. For the first time, the government has pledged to support the medical center till 2020 so that it can retain its premier status in health care, research and teaching. State support to Hadassah was significantly increased beyond the court settlement
Also for the first time, the Israeli government has committed to supporting and regulating a privately owned medical center. Over the last 102 years, HWZOA, which owns the hospital, has contributed billions of dollars to the health system in Israel. In addition to the two hospitals’ campuses in Jerusalem, in Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus, HWZOA has also helped build the Israeli health system through community clinics such as “Drop of Milk well-baby clinic” system and hospitals around the country. Hadassah founded the medical and nursing schools in Jerusalem, as well as a technological college.
The agreement was mandated by the District Court presided over by Judge David Mintz. Government negotiators Yair Tal and Moshe Bar-Simantov from the Finance Ministry, hammered out the agreement with the HWZOA team led by Audrey Shimron and David Spector.
The new governance agreement mandates the creation of a new HMO board after January 1, 2015, with nine representatives (instead of 15), including four appointed by HWZOA, which will also name the chairperson (altogether, 5 representatives named by HWZOA). Four representatives of the public (who are not civil servants) will be appointed by a committee headed by a Supreme Court judge or a retired district court judge.
Two HWZOA representatives and the chairman must be residents of Israel, in addition to the four appointed by the public committee. This dovetails with HWZOA’s goal of increasing local involvement in the management of one of the most advanced institutions in Israel and Jerusalem.
By early 2015, a permanent HMO Board Chair will be appointed as well as a permanent HMO Director General. The chairpersons appointed by HWZOA are subject to government approval, as is customary in public institutions.
In addition to the strong support of the government and HWZOA, the recovery plan was made possible by critical contributions of all parties, including management, unions, doctors, nurses, non-medical staff, suppliers, IMA, and the Histadrut labor federation.
HWZOA National President Marcie Natan: “The agreement is of the greatest importance in assuring the success of the medical center in providing the best possible medical care for residents of Jerusalem and Israel, and continuing to provide breakthroughs in medicine, research and academia.”
