Hadassah International eBulletin - September 2008Print
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Editors:
Lonye Rasch, Communications Chair, lrasch@hadassah.org
Tamar Davis, Senior Manager, tdavis@hadassah.org
 
Patricia Levinson, Website Chair, plevinson@hadassah.org
 
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Please note: Most of the articles in this eBulletin will be available in French, Spanish, and German on www.hadassah-international.org next week. If you wish to receive the eBulletin articles in a specific language, please resubscribe to the eBulletin (click above) and indicate your preferred language.
    
 



 
Dear Colleagues,
 
As the new Coordinator of Hadassah International, I am so energized by your high level of enthusiasm, dedication, professionalism, and creativity. In my first few months at the helm of this incredible organization, I've had the opportunity to meet and talk with a number of our volunteers and directors. Everyone is brimming with terrific plans! I am excited to take in the atmosphere of mutual respect and eager cross-fertilization of ideas that I find whenever volunteers and directors from our diverse countries interact.



Hadassah International mourns the loss of June Walker, esteemed National President of Hadassah, 2003-2007, and one of only two women to hold the Chair of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations (2007-2008).



The Israel Science Foundation (ISF), Israel's predominant source of competitive grants for basic research, just announced its 2008 allocations and Hadassah is once again at the top!


Physicians at the Hadassah Medical Center successfully transplanted a kidney into a patient who has familial dysautonomia, marking the first time in the world that a kidney transplant has been performed with a positive outcome on a patient with this disease.


 
Yedioth Aharonoth reporter, Zadok Yehezkeli, minutes after he was
put on a bed in Hadassah's Intensive Care Unit. Dr. Micha Shamir is
first on the left and Prof. Rivkind is second from right.
Prof. Avi Rivkind, head of the Trauma Unit at the Hadassah Medical Center, together with Dr. Micha Shamir, a senior physician from the Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, traveled to Tbilisi, Georgia to treat a senior reporter from Israel's Yedioth Aharonoth newspaper, who was seriously injured during the fighting there.


Hadassah physicians transplanted human embryonic stem cells into the brain of mice who had multiple sclerosis (MS) and significantly slowed down the disease's clinical symptoms and pathological manifestations.


Kenny Sachs, a survivor of terrorism, who endured a gunshot wound to his leg and years of physical therapy, performed the traditional Jewish ritual of breaking a glass with his foot at his recent wedding.


The International Nursing Research Conference, bringing more than 400 nurse educators, researchers, and clinicians from 33 countries to Jerusalem this summer, celebrated the vastly expanded field of nursing research and Israel's 60th birthday.


Doctors at Hadassah Hospital-Ein Kerem saved the life of a 12-year-old Palestinian girl, who was bitten by a viper in the yard of her Ramallah home.


Yossi Nitzani, who has served on the Hadassah Medical Organization Board of Directors since its establishment over 12 years ago, has been named Chairman of the Board.


Hadassah's Department of Cardio-Thoracic Surgery has recently acquired a state-of-the-art heart-lung machine, the only one of its kind in Israel.


Dr. Alex Klimov, a senior physician in the Department of Vascular and Interventional Radiology at Hadassah Hospital- Ein Kerem, has developed a new technique which dramatically reduces the risk to diabetics of losing a limb.


A Hadassah surgical team has developed an advanced laparoscopic method to extract a person's gall bladder through one small incision.


Hadasit, Hadassah's research and development arm, has announced the successful completion of a clinical trial that demonstrates the safety and efficacy of the Lupusorb, created by Hadassah to treat lupus patients by removing auto-antibodies from their blood.


A Jordanian father whose child was treated at the Hadassah Medical Center sent several notes of thanks to Hadassah's medical professionals, expressing his appreciation for their "humanity, generosity, hospitality, and unselfishness, which were felt from the first moment to the last moment of dealing with the great Hadassah Medical Organization and its crew."


The Hadassah Medical Organization has signed a historic agreement with the Israel Medical Association (IMA) to preserve the salary levels and benefits of all outgoing department heads, who will now step down after two terms (12 years), paving the way for the professional advancement of other physicians.


Prof. Alon Mozes, head of Hadassah's Department of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, was elected president of the Israel Society for Infectious Diseases at its recent Conference, while Dr. Shmuel Bennenson of his Department won first prize for his research on prevention of infection in the hospital setting.


To foster collaboration among physicians from different disciplines regarding the impact of chemotherapy and radiotherapy on fertility, Dr. Ariel Revel, senior physician in the Hadassah Medical Center's Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, organized a July conference which was attended by more than 250 physicians--oncologists, hematologists, radiotherapists, psycho-oncologists, and gynecologists/obstetricians from all over the country.


Congratulations!
Hadassah International sends warm wishes of congratulations to Dr. Josh Schroeder, Young Hadassah International board member and resident in orthopedic surgery at the Hadassah Medical Center, and his wife, Yaira, on the birth of their daughter, Eliana Hadar, born at Hadassah Hospital-Mount Scopus this summer.



We're Not Waiting for the Future, We're Building It!
To date, Hadassah International has raised $8.81 million for the new Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower of Healing, to be dedicated at Hadassah Hospital-Ein Kerem in 2012. With this issue of the eBulletin, we begin a new feature, "Distinguished Donor Profiles" (see next article). It is our goal to give you a glimpse into who our Tower donors are and what motivates these generous individuals to support this new citadel of healing.
 
Click here to learn more about the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower.


Lady Davis, born Marion Mitchell, in Wellington, New Zealand in 1876, was a child opera star, beginning her career in a juvenile opera company at the age of 14.




The academic year was 1992-1993, the place was the Hadassah-Hebrew University Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, and attending the International Masters of Public Health (IMPH) program was Judy Omumbo of Kenya, who says, "It was the best year of my life!"


During a recent visit to Israel, United Kingdom Prime Minister Gordon Brown addressed Israel's Knesset (Parliament) and singled out one hospital for praise: The Hadassah Medical Center.


During the 61st annual United Nations Department of Information/Nongovernmental Organization (DPI/NGO) Conference in Paris, France, Hadassah presented a workshop attended by representatives from around the world, entitled "Community Outreach: The Right to be Healthy." The workshop featured Hadassah health activists who are educating women of all ages and cultures in the art of preventive health and overall well being.
    
From left at the UN Workshop: Judy Shereck, Hadassah America Chair of Israel, Zionist, and International Affairs; Janice Greenwald, Hadassah America Liaison to the United Nations; Nava Braverman, Workshop Moderator; Rachel Ben Zeev and Hiyah Rahman, Workshop Panelists;  Nadine Polakowski , Representative of L'Oreal's  External Affairs Department; and Beatrice Birnbaum, Hadassah International Director of Development, Europe. L'Oreal, after being approached by the Hadassah International office in Paris, helped to fund the Abu Gosh women's health initiative.


At the parlor meeting, from left: UN Workshop Panelists Hiyah Rahman,
Rachel Ben Zeev, and Nava Braverman; Giselle Sabbah, hostess and
Hadassah France supporter; Michelle Israel, Director of Hadassah
France; and Janice Greenwald, Hadassah America Liaison to the
United Nations 
Hadassah France extended gracious hospitality to the United Nations workshop presenters from Israel—Nava Braverman, Rachel Ben Zeev, and Hiyah Rahman—honoring them with a parlor meeting at the home of Giselle Sabbah, Hadassah France volunteer and daughter of Harold Woolf, President of Hadassah Australia in Sydney.


Prof. Jacob Pe'er (left), head of the Hadassah Medical Center's Department of Ophthalmology, together with his wife, Edith, were recent dinner guests of Hong Kong Hadassah International supporters Kathy Chiron and her husband, Stuart. Prof. Pe'er was "in town" for the World Ophthalmology Congress (WOC). World-renowned in his field, Prof. Pe'er is the only Israeli member on the WOC board.


 
On a visit sponsored by the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC), participants from North York General Hospital, Toronto were briefed about Israel's health care system and the unique role Hadassah plays, including its cutting-edge stem cell research, trauma medicine, and collaboration with East Jerusalem's Augusta Victoria Hospital to treat Palestinian children who have cancer.
 
Members of the North York General Hospital Mission with Hadassah physicians, from left: Sarah Rothwell, Director of Major Gifts; Chris Tambakis, Campaign Chair North York General Hospital Foundation; Dr. Yuval Weiss, Director, Hadassah Hospital-Ein Kerem; Mary Clare Egberts, Senior Vice President; Dr. Elyse Lackie, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology; Dr. David Baron, Chief of Medicine; Dr. Ora Paltiel, Hebrew University-Hadassah Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine;  and Mohini Pershad, Nursing Professional Practice Leader.


Young Judaea, Hadassah's Youth Movement, will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2009 and is looking for names, addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and photos of Young Judaeans. If you or someone you know attended a Young Judaea camp, summer Israel program or Year Course, please email alumni@youngjudaea.org.



From left: Hadassah Australia President Ron Finkel;
Australia's Federal Minister of Health, The Hon.
Nicola Roxon; Hadassah's Associate Director
General Dr. Yair Birnbaum
Tapping into ingenuity and community connections, Hadassah Australia created AusIMed—the Australia Israel Medical Research Fund—to support clinical collaboration and bilateral research between the Hadassah Medical Center and high-level hospitals in Australia. AusIMed was launched at a gala dinner on July 29, in coordination with the Australian Ministry of Health and the State Zionist Council of Victoria.


Following the launch of the Australia Israel Medical Research Fund, AusIMed, in Melbourne, Dr. Yair Birnbaum, Associate Director General of the Hadassah University Medical Center, went on to promote Hadassah awareness in another of Hadassah Australia's "hometowns"--Perth, Western Australia. In an editorial following Dr. Birnbaum's visit, the editor of the local weekly Jewish newspaper, The Maccabean, noted: "In a crazy world, Hadassah is an island of sanity, working for peace through medicine. And if gold medals are being awarded, they are truly deserving."


Lady Marion Davis
Hadassah New Zealand has received a gift of $250,000 for the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Tower from Guardian Trust, on behalf of the Lady Marion Davis Memorial (Hospitals) Foundation, naming the ground-floor Information Desk and Area for philanthropist, Lady Davis. During their lifetimes, Lady Davis and her husband, Sir Ernest Davis, were generous contributors to medical care and education, including the building and ongoing support of the renowned Marion Davis Memorial Medical Library.


With the goal of enhancing knowledge of Israel beyond the Middle East conflict, the family of the late Valda Knight, past president of Hadassah New Zealand, has established the Valda Knight Memorial Scholarship to enable an individual to spend two to three weeks in Israel in professional development and personal enrichment, getting to know one of the world's leading research and teaching hospitals—the Hadassah Medical Center.


Sally Abadi and Dr. Joseph Setton
Appearing at the Hadassah Medical Center session at the Hadassah USA 2008 national convention in July, two dynamic young leaders from Hadassah Panama told the story of their unit's creation and spiraling success, to the enthusiastic admiration of the 2,000 delegates.



Sandra Gruenberger (Vienna) and Avram Berkson (Chicago) were married one year after meeting at the Young Hadassah International Conference 2007 in Rome and generously requested that in lieu of wedding gifts, donations be made to the Hadassah Medical Center, resulting in over $8,000 in contributions to Hadassah.


Young Hadassah International brought together a diverse and motivated group of young professionals from 10 different countries to share their insights, expertise, and vision during an intensive 3-day retreat in Budapest, Hungary.
 
Tamar Davis (left), Hadassah International's Senior Manager, presented a certificate to Hadassah Hungary President Agnes Yom-Tov, in appreciation for Agnes and her husband, Arie, sponsoring the YHI Retreat.


After several years of rainy Beachwalks, Young Hadassah Holland was finally able to enjoy a clear day for its Beachwalk 2008.


Audience at the ROI Summit
Young Hadassah Leader Stacey Plax, one of 120 young people chosen from all over the world, traveled to Jerusalem in June to give a presentation about Hadassah International at the ROI Summit, a global initiative aimed at supporting individuals who are committed to expanding the horizons of their Jewish communities.



Click here to view upcoming Hadassah International events around the world.



Hadassah International Medical Relief Association, Ltd.

Hadassah International unites people of all faiths and nationalities in their mission to improve lives around the globe through support of pioneering medical research, teaching, and healing at the Hadassah Medical Organization in Jerusalem.

 

Transcending politics, religion, and geographical boundaries to enhance world health, the Hadassah Medical Center was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.



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