“They gave them wings”

Right in the middle of the Department of Pediatrics at Hillel Yaffe Medical Center is the nose of a plane, and you can see a cockpit from its windshield. When you enter the cockpit, you see the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center logo, along with wings and “Squadron 325.” This unusual structure inside an inpatient department is the brainchild of a venture that brought together many different people to let the children hospitalized in Hillel Yaffe’s Department of Pediatrics have some fun and bring them some relief from being hospitalized (and from their pain).

The nose of the aircraft in the middle of Hillel Yaffe Medical Center's Department of Pediatrics

Everyone involved in this special project came to the official launch ceremony: Chairman of Friends of Hillel Yaffe Mr. Moshe Morag, along with Director General of the Hospital Dr. Mickey Dudkiewicz, Administrative Director Mr. Rafi Koren, Hillel Yaffe Fund for Health Services and Research Director, Pediatric Division Director Dr. Adi Klein, and the founder of Squadron 325, who with the help of volunteers also operates the simulator in the department, Mr. Yaniv Kalai. They were joined by people who contributed various resources to the project: Mr. Moshe Bar Yehuda, representatives of Israel Aircraft Industries, and the person who was responsible for the actual construction, hospital engineer Ronen Edri.

As mentioned above, the simulator in the Department of Pediatrics is operated by volunteers with Squadron 325 founded in honor of the late Herzl Shay Kalai, who fell during his military service. The project operates in several pediatric departments at hospitals around Israel and is an incredible sight for anyone who enters the department, but more importantly, it gives the children a welcome respite from their stress and even helps relieve the pain they feel during their hospital stay.