By Lauren Segal, Special to JTNews
The Center for Emergency Medicine at Hadassah Hospital, Ein Kerem, which opened in 1979, was originally designed to treat 41,000 patients annually. Last year, 72,000 patients visited the Emergency Room and trauma unit.
Escalating violence from the intifada is the leading reason for the increase in patient volume at Israel’s main trauma center. Other reasons, including Israel’s aging population, have contributing to the incredible overcrowding. Because it is a tertiary-care hospital, patients from around the region come to Ein Karen, including wounded Israel Defense Forces personnel being flown in from all over Israel.
Due to the continued demands on the Emergency Center, Hadassah’s highest priority is to provide Ein Kerem with a comprehensive center for emergency medicine by 2004. That is why Althea Stroum, who will be honored at the Seattle Chapter’s Gala for Giving on May 9, has requested that all money raised through this event go toward the new center of emergency medicine.
With a planned 3,400 square meters, the center will be over three times as large as the current space, and will treat 100,000 to 120,000 patients annually, an increase of 29 to 41 percent. In addition to state-of-the-art equipment, the center will have biological and chemical warfare defenses, and will be a model for U.S. facilities that are concerned about security. The new facility will improve the already existing units as well as add two units.
A walk-in clinic will accommodate between 30 and 40 patients. Capacity in the trauma unit will be increased to six treatment areas and triple the floor space of the current unit. This significant expansion will allow sophisticated equipment to be placed at each bedside.
Two other important components of the center will be the 28-bed adult emergency unit and the 12-bed pediatric emergency unit. A new resuscitation unit will serve patients who are severely ill, but less so than those who are directed to the trauma unit. In extreme situations, the resuscitation unit beds can accept trauma patients, thus permitting the hospital to double the trauma unit’s capacity in the case of a national catastrophe. Of critical importance, the center will have its own imaging unit, equipped for X ray, CT scanning and ultrasound. Nursing stations will be placed so that each patient is always in view. An observation unit will be available for patients whose symptoms are not sufficiently acute and require only intravenous medications or inhalations
By Israeli law, new public facilities must have sealed areas for protection against warfare. The center will be specifically designed to function under any condition, including chemical and biological attack. At least 80 percent of the facility will be sealed through the HVAC system, windows, doors and firewalls. Scheduled completion for the project is 2004. Construction costs are estimated at $28 million. This figure includes $5 million for funding for state-of-the art equipment. An estimated 20 percent of the construction budget will be used to provide the center with biological and chemical defense.
To raise funds for this emergency center upgrade, Seattle Chapter Hadassah will be hosting its annual Gala for Giving on Thursday, May 9, 2002, at the Four Season Olympic Hotel. This year Hadassah will be honoring Althea Stroum, with special guest speaker Dee Dee Meyers. Meyers was the first woman and youngest person to serve as White House press secretary, a job she held in the Clinton administration.
To receive an invitation to the Gala, or to honor Althea Stroum with a donation, please contact the Hadassah office at 425-467-9099.