Emergency Room Help
Bikkur Cholim is a hospital in the heart of Jerusalem. Situated outside the walls of the Old City, it is the only hospital in the center of Israel’s capital. A large proportion of the terrorist strikes that have hit Jerusalem during the second intifada have taken place within the radius of Bikkur Cholim making it the closest address for emergency medical treatment. In fact, many of the bombings were within a hundred yards of the hospital.
Over 100 years old, Bikkur Cholim is not the same as other hospitals in other ways as well. It is not a private hospital and it is not as well known or as generously supported by the "American Friends of…" as others.
While well over 1,300 casualties of the terrorists attacks during the intifada received treatment in their emergency room, 40,000 people seek treatment at the Emergency Department of the hospital each year. Equipment wears out faster at Bikkur Cholim than the usual useful life because of the magnitude of use.
The two crucial aspects to saving human life are the level of professionalism of the medical staff and the time span until the patient receives attention. Only a few minutes elapse from the moment the hospital is informed of a large-scale emergency to the time when the emergency staff is at their posts, ready and able to cope with any situation. We met with staff at the hospital and toured all the departments. We received outside confirmation that the neonatal and cardiology departments are the best in the country. And we spoke with hospital officials about the state of the hospital’s financial resource problems and the measures being taken to minimize them.
Our Involvement
Our most recent grant to Bikur Cholim was a purchase of sophisticated software and hardware to activate the lung function unit. This grant allows the hospital to increase the volume of tests and increase the number of patients under care to hundreds more per month and at the same time ensures the maximum in precision of results. Previously, Hands On Tzedakah purchased 2 new ECG machines for the ER and a defibrillator that is used in the ER, the OR, Cardiology and ICU Internal Medicine departments.
On behalf of Bikur Cholim Hospital, we are posting an urgent request to find a donor for an Echocardiography machine urgently needed in the Cardiology Department of the hospital. The diagnostic features of this new machine are not part of the 3 older machines the hospital has now. In order to keep up with the medical standards of this field, the hospital must be equipped with at least one machine of this kind. The cost of the machine is $132,000 and the cost of the probe attached is $34,000, not including the value-added taxes (with VAT it is a total of $195,000). Bikur Cholim is also in need of 12 hospital beds for the Pediatric Department at a cost of $2,500 each, defibrillators ($7,000 each), cardio-monitors for both the ER ($8,000 each) and the Internal Medicine Intensive Care Unit ($10,000 each).
Contact Information:
A tour of Bikkur Cholim is a fascinating, heart-rendering experience. We urge you to visit on your next trip to Israel. Their needs substantially exceed our ability to fund them.
Akiva Holzer, Bikkur Cholim Hospital, 5 Strauss Street, Jerusalem 91004. Telephone 011-972-06-671-8004; www.doctor.co.il/Hospitals/bikur.html
