Hillel Yaffe Medical Center: An End to a Historical Year

Impressive medical achievements, an increase in activities, incorporation of advanced technologies, providing new services and opening new clinics for the community, and even generating a historic event for the State of Israel in the obstetrics-gynecology field – we at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center cite all these achievements proudly, as we end and summarize this past Jewish year.

Starting next week the past Jewish year will lead the way for a most jubilant and spectacular year. At the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, as always, this is a great time to review the whole of last year’s progress and set new goals for the next year. This year the hospital resume includes a point of pride on a historical level – the first legal anonymous egg donation in Israel. This achievement is accompanied by the first robotic medicine dispenser for patients in Israel and other unique services in the hospital such as a multidisciplinary clinic for the treatment of fainting incidents. 

So what happened?
The Last year in numbers
The extent of activity at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center is consistently rising from year to year with respect to different aspects. In this past Jewish year there were nearly 4,400 births at the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, among them were 4 births of triplets and 105 births of twins, this is an increase of more than 6% compared to the previous year. Anyone entering the delivery room can personally witness the increasing numbers, numbers which are expected to grow even greater. 

An increase of about 3% has also been witnessed in the number of Emergency Room visits – more than 111,000 people in one year, one fourth of them being trauma patients. It is important to note, in relation to this matter, that many car accident injuries were treated in the hospital this year as well, and the percentage of these cases still stands at about 20% of the total national average for this criteria, that is 5700 injuries each year.

An additional increase was noted in the number of recovering patients in the hospital, which numbers 38,100 people – an increase of more than 4% in relation to the previous year. Similarly, an increase of about 25% was noted in the number of patient visits to external clinics, this is a total of more than 154,000 people each year. In addition to this data, the hospital reports a rise of 9% in the amount of surgeries performed in the past Jewish year – that is, about 11,600 surgeries. This statistic is expected to grow in light of the opening of 3 new surgery rooms in the gynecological wing last year.

New, innovative and renovated
The past Jewish year will be remembered as the year in which the Hillel Yaffe Medical Center marked new noteworthy achievements, several of them making history in the medical, clinical and technological worlds. The IVF team of the obstetrics and gynecology department was the first to complete a fertilization from a legal and anonymous egg donation – this took place after the completion of a long and complicated legislative process. In addition, during this time, the pharmacy wing was the first in Israel to acquire and operate a special robot that allows drug dispensing to patients in the various departments, in a manner which will prevent errors and will free up valuable work hours for the attending staff. These two very significant achievements accompany new services which are constantly available for the public benefit, among them being: an expert manned clinic for treating fainting incidents, a botox clinic, imaging services for accurate examination of the thyroid gland, support groups for celiac, Crohn’s disease patients and more.

 In regards to construction, the changes and improvements for the community and attending staff are prominent. These changes have been made possible due to the opening of an additional in-patient recovery building, among them the opening of additional operating rooms in the gynecology wing, renovation of the entrance to the maternity ward, as well as a roofed passageway, connecting the old in-patient recovery building and the new building, and more. Today, there is work being done in the hospital to build a new and advanced medical library for the use of the caretakers and for the many students who pass through the doors of the hospital, and also to build additional parking lots which will provide 270 additional parking spaces for the hospital.  

 In the academic and research areas two new laboratories were inaugurated in the last year - a gynecology, obstetrics and fertility laboratory and a trauma and surgery laboratory. In addition, much to the hospital’s pleasure, 9 doctors in various departments received the title of “Professor” from the Technion in Haifa. The hospital staff continues to excel in the field of medical and nursing instruction and continues to produce new generations of experts in different fields.  

As a part of the joint activities concerning the community, the hospital held information-day events on a variety of subjects, among them pregnancy and labor, gastroenterology, children, imaging and more.  In addition, a medical magazine, meant for community doctors, was published for the first time, and the hospital initiated an initial promotional campaign intended to provide local residents with all the information about the services offered in the hospital.  

Professor Meir Oren, the director of the medical center, summarizes: “There is no doubt that we had a great year, despite the obvious difficulties the health system is facing, which continue to grow. Our dedicated staff of workers is one of the main reasons for this, and I am filled with hope and pride that this year we will also be able to continue the many activities of the hospital with one main goal – providing the best care for anyone who is in need of our services, and continuous improvement and development.”