Honored guests, friends, and colleagues from around the world and Israel.
For several years we have been meeting in Haifa for the Annual Rambam Summit, where Medicine Technology and Humanity intertwine. Our cause is great—to create the future of medicine for our people, our region, and our world.
Opening Address for the 2016 Rambam Summit,
by Professor Rafi Beyar
The focus of this year’s summit, we have been looking at the much broader field of digital health, cancer prevention, and therapeutics. Rambam, together with the Technion, our academic partner, and our other esteemed collaborators, combined with Haifa’s spirit of diversity and acceptance, are marching forward to bring amazing innovations to health care.
Let’s roll back 10 years: it is the summer of 2006 and the second Lebanon war has begun. Rockets fall around us for more than a month. More than 60 missiles fall within a 1 mile perimeter of our hospital, killing and wounding innocent civilians. We are caring for soldiers, civilians, children, and critically sick patients in improvised shelters.
When the war ended I committed on camera: “we will not let our patients and staff again be vulnerable to deadly missile attacks in the next war, which we hope will never happen.”
This evening we meet on miraculous ground representing our endurance and perseverance that has taken us from vision to reality. We and our patients are now secure at Rambam. The modern fortified emergency department was inaugurated in 2009. Beneath us, extending 3 levels—16.5 meters deep—is the 2,000-bed, Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital, which became operational in 2014. The visionary philanthropy of Sammy Ofer and his family made this miracle happen. We also cannot forget Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, founder and president of the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews, hundreds of individuals from around the world, and in particular, Mr. Sandor Frankel and the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust for their essential contribution to help make safe and secure medical care a reality.
On my right is the beautiful brand new Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, a health care playground with the most advanced medicine and technology, bringing healing to the sick kids of Haifa and the entire Galilee. We cannot thank enough Bruce of blessed memory, Ruth Rappaport, and all of the family for your commitment, devotion, and passion—may you each be blessed with a long and healthy life.
On my left you see the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center, which is filling a critical need for the entire population of Northern Israel and beyond. Our deepest gratitude goes to Joseph Fishman of blessed memory, and his wonderful and devoted family. The new oncology center will open its doors to the patients of Haifa and Northern Israel next month, We are still seeking resources for the Radiation Oncology Center. With your help, our patients won’t be waiting too long. This is mission I: our top priority.
These amazing achievements have been accomplished by our passionate Rambam teams and our incredible friends from Israel and around the world.
Next to the oncology center, behind you, disguised in unique shades of concrete, is the new Cardiovascular Hospital. Heart disease remains the greatest health threat worldwide. Our gifted clinicians and researchers require this new facility and modern equipment to give the people of Northern Israel the heart care they need and deserve.
The Cardiovascular Hospital must be finished soon! I have faith in you, our friends, to make it happen. This is Mission II, also a top priority.
This year’s theme was “The State of the Heart.” This coming Friday, Levy Gertzberg and and Ori Sela, the founder of “Water World,” will participate in Swim from the Heart, dedicated to raising funds for Rambam research into prevention of sudden cardiac death in children and adults. Levy will lead 465 swimmers from Israel and San Franciso through Haifa Bay’s clear waters in a swim that will reach Rambam by sea. Please join him in swimming or in spirit to support prevention of sudden cardiac death.
This morning’s Health of Tomorrow conference was outstanding. World leaders in cardiovascular medicine and digital health showed us a future where stem cells, innovative devices, novel imaging, and unprecedented digital health methodologies will achieve above and beyond what we could have imagined only a decade ago. Democratizing medicine, as Topol preached, is inevitable.
This month we celebrated a new and exciting achievement: Establishment of the MindUp incubator here in Haifa; Rambam MedTech. Two world giants, IBM and Medtronics, along with technology investors Pitango and Impact First will pave the way for new frontiers in digital health care.
We need your help to continue this ongoing race for life at its current pace. Your partnership in building the Biomedical Discovery Tower for applied research and innovations will enhance the prestige of our region and of Israel in clinical research. Mission III is to see this tower reach the sky for a healthy future.
We stand here between the established Rambam Health Care Campus, and the Technion’s Ruth and Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, home to two great Nobel Laureates, bright stars in the sky of science and discovery and guiding our “Minds Up” towards even greater heights. Cooperation with our Technion colleagues is integral to Rambam’s clinical research. Professor Peretz Lavie, the Technion’s President and Professor Eliezer Shalev, Dean of the Technion’s Faculty of medicine, have been instrumental in promoting collaborations benefitting our patients.
Israel’s Minister of Finance, Mr. Kahlon who send you greetings and apologiezed for not being able to join us this evening, understands our needs and the needs of our patients and has committed to major support for the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center. This important commitment from the Ministry of Finance and Health was timely and is assuring implementation of our plans to begin caring for patients there shortly.
Mr. Kahlon is equally aware of the importance of the Biomedical Discovery Tower for Israel’s industry and economic strength. He recognizes that Rambam and the Technion are turbo-engines that will keep Israel in first place as the world’s start up medical nation.
Yesterday we laid the cornerstone for the Neuroscurgical Intensive Care Unit, a gift form Herta and Paul Amir. We are equally thankful to Sol and Meri Barer, Alan and Tatyana Forman, Earl Gorman, Effie and Ellie Goldhar, the Griedinger Family, and all the rest of you who have joined us this evening for your support, generosity, kind advice, and encouragement. We are deeply grateful for the 7,900 individuals and organizations from around the world, who have made Rambam Health Care Campus a priority in their philanthropy.
Tonight I am pleased to announce the launch of a $100M campaign for the next 5 years, to achieve all the milestones I have just shared with you. We thank you all for being part of our huge family of friends from Israel and around the world.
I would like to acknowledge my amazing team, Professor Shimon Reisner, Professor Karl Skorecki, Dr. Miki Halberthal, Dr. Esty Golan, Mr. Arieh Berkowitz—and the entire leadership team whose hard work day in and day out, has turned our vision to reality. Todah Rabah to my devoted office staff chaired by the unbeatable “Golden” Zehava, and a huge thanks to every single worker at Rambam who has joined in our mission.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Haifa’s mayor Yona Yahav, who helped us with all the of the complex regulations for building our new campus, who is reviving the city of Haifa, and has made our vision his own—seeing Haifa as the med tech hub of Israel.
The people behind our Friends organizations in Israel and abroad cannot be forgotten, Adam Emmerich, Zvi Eizikowitz, Anita Alexander-Passe, David and Mona Sterling, David Green, Dr. Robert Stern, Joelle Abitbol, and our newest representative for the Friends of Rambam in India, Ralphy Jhirad.
I would like to thank Yehuda Hayuth for his guidance and leadership of the Israel Friends organization over the last 10 years. Your wise counsel has laid a strong foundation for the next generation.
Israel’s Minister of Health, Rabbi Lizman and the Minister of Finance, Mr. Kahlon, have both strengthened our vision and provided us with financial and guidance all along the way.
Last but not least, I can’t thank enough my wonderful family who are filling my journey with joy.
