The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit in Rambam Health Campus’s Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital received the highest scores of all NICUs in Israel in an inspection conducted by the Ministry of Health.
Rambam's Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. Photography: Ziv Koren.
Following a review carried out by Israel’s Ministry of Health, Rambam’s NICU has been named the number one NICU in the country. In addition, Rambam’s NICU is one of two in Israel that recorded the greatest improvement between 2018 and 2019.
"The selection was made based on a Health Ministry inspection that was part of an incentive model aimed at improving the level of NICUs in Israel. Rambam’s NICU is considered a top unit due to the number of births taking place and the fact that it handles the most complex cases in the region. It treats not only premature babies (those born before the 37th week of pregnancy), but also babies born full-term who require neonatal intensive care for issues such as respiratory problems and other conditions, as well as congenital malformations due to genetic disorders or metabolic diseases. Our NICU is essentially an intensive care unit for all newborns,” explains Professor Amir Kugelman, Director of Rambam’s Department of Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care.
“The complex treatments are made possible thanks to our neonatology experts, our professional, skilled nursing staff, and our excellent specialists. In Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital, our multidisciplinary team is made up of surgeons and specialists in the fields of cardiovascular medicine, lung disease, kidney disease, digestive system diseases, metabolic and genetic diseases, and imaging. As a result of this professional medical structure, Rambam’s NICU is the primary NICU in Northern Israel," notes Professor Kugelman.
Rambam’s excellent results in the Health Ministry inspection focus on several factors: the level of construction, cleanliness, state-of-the-art equipment, and especially the staff. All of these elements ensure that Rambam’s newborns and their families receive the highest level of professional, compassionate care.
Professor Kugelman adds, "The most significant achievement over the past year has been the eradication of infections acquired from central catheters. Given the complexity of Rambam's cases and the invasive treatments required for these infants due to their severe illnesses, this accomplishment is very important. It was achieved through the strenuous and uncompromising efforts of our multidisciplinary staff of nurses, physicians, infection prevention experts, and Rambam’s Executive Leadership, which provided the necessary resources and supported processes that the hospital’s NICU has undergone.”
