Rambam Hospital Awarded $5 Million Grant from the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
(New York, NY) – Rambam Hospital in Haifa, Israel, has received a $5 million grant from The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust in order to purchase the necessary medical equipment for its new fortified underground emergency hospital.
The Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital is a three-story, 60,000 square meter facility, which is fully fortified against both conventional and unconventional warfare. As the largest hospital of its kind in the world, it can convert from a 1,500-vehicle parking lot into a 2,000-bed emergency hospital within just 72 hours of war being declared. The grant will go towards buying equipment for the hospital, thereby contributing enormously to preparing it for use.
“The initiative for a fortified hospital came about following the Second Lebanon War six years ago,” states Professor Rafi Beyar, Director and CEO of Rambam Health Care Campus. During the course of the war, 45 missiles fell in close proximity to Rambam, and although no one was hurt, it triggered off the thinking among hospital executives that action needed to be taken. “We realized that we couldn’t rely on miracles anymore,” continues Beyar. “We had to prepare for any future threat by having a safe area where patients could be moved to and where staff could function.”
Six years later, the building of the new fortified hospital is almost complete and once all the relevant equipment has been bought, the hospital will be fully functional.
“We are extremely thankful to the Helmsley Charitable Trust for granting us this donation, which we will use in order to procure vital equipment for the hospital,” remarks Beyar. “Unfortunately, the threat of war has grown increasingly strong over recent years. As the main referral hospital for over two million people in the North of Israel, Rambam Hospital is determined to have the capabilities of providing acute and chronic hospital care under fire to all those who need it.”
“As security and health care preparedness are core objectives of our program in Israel, we are pleased to support Rambam in equipping this vitally important new facility,” said Sandor Frankel, a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust.
About The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust:
The Helmsley Charitable Trust aspires to improve lives by supporting effective nonprofits in a variety of selected program areas. Since 2008, when the Trust began its active grantmaking, it has committed more than $800 million to a wide range of charitable organizations. The Trust’s grantmaking program in Israel supports leading institutions and initiatives that seek to strengthen the nation’s leadership in scientific, technological and medical research, its health care preparedness, and its standing in the world. For more information on the Trust and its programs, please visit www.helmsleytrust.org.
About Rambam Hospital:
Rambam Health Care Campus is the largest medical center in Northern Israel, serving more than two million residents. Recognized worldwide as a center of excellence in all medical specialties, its global prominence in trauma and emergency medicine is a direct result of its prodigious experience providing medical treatment to injured civilians and soldiers.
