Chairperson of Knesset Lobby for Public Health visits HYMC

This past Sunday (October 2, 2011), MK Dr. Rachel Adatto visited Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, where she met with the hospital’s administration and heard from Hillel Yaffe Director Prof. Meir Oren of the challenges faced by the hospital as well as its successes and developments in recent years.

During the visit, Dr. Adatto was shown data reflecting the hospital’s routine operations. One statistic that stood out to MK Dr. Adatto was the number of trauma victims treated every day at Hillel Yaffe, which she noted was particularly high, even from her perspective as former Deputy Medical Director of Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem.

Prof. Oren and MK Dr. Adatto discussed progress made in the purchase of MRIs for Hillel Yaffe and the delays in this purchase attributed to the granting of a joint license with Laniado Hospital against the desire of both hospitals to each purchase the device independently. As a member of the Knesset’s Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, Dr. Adatto promised to raise this issue with the Committee in the next round of approvals for MRIs. Additionally, she told Hillel Yaffe administration that her draft law that would have eliminated the need to obtain Ministry of Health approval to purchase these devices and allowed every hospital to purchase an MRI was rejected by the Deputy Health Minister.

At the conclusion of her visit, MK Dr. Rachel Adatto said, “As part of my work to bridge the gaps in the healthcare system between the center of the country and the periphery, I wanted to get a first-hand look at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center. This medical center, though not geographically part of the periphery, does face similar difficulties. Therefore, it should receive budget increments from the government similar to those granted to hospitals located in the periphery under the last agreement signed between the government and the Israel Medical Association.”

MK Dr. Adatto promised to stay in touch with Prof. Oren and to facilitate his efforts to develop the hospital and resources with the Ministry of Health and the government.