Dear Friends,
A decade before Israel became a nation, the British Mandatory government established a small government hospital here in Haifa. No one could have imagined that over time, that institute would evolve into what today is known as Rambam Health Care Campus.
This year we celebrate 80 years of medical and scientific achieve-ment at Rambam. Our clinicians, researchers, nursing teams, and paramedical staff have achieved worldwide recognition for their superb compassionate medical care, discoveries, and innova-tions. The wise use of technology pervades nearly every aspect of clinical care—all for the benefit of our patients from near and far.
We are proud of Rambam Med-Tech, our technology transfer company that takes the ideas of physicians and scientists from idea to practice. Central to our vision are strong collaborations with academia and surrounding industry. We are particularly proud of our partnership with the MindUp incubator for digital health and medical technology, in partnership with world leader industries, Medtronics, IBM and Israeli investment funds Pitango and Impat First. Last June we were excited to see that our pride is well placed—Rambam received the prestigious international JCI accreditation for excellence in the
Opening Address for the 2017 Rambam Summit
by Professor Rafi Beyar
We heard outstanding lectures from Professors Drazen and Horton, the editors of the worlds’ leading medical journals. We discussed the global value of medical research, we unveiled the social and political determinants that make the regional collaborations in medicine and research a unique and important opportunity in our region. We heard a personal perspective from Denis Ross on the challenges in our region. Taking our thoughts and hypotheses to patient bedsides with appropriate evidence, and extrapolating from the individual patient to global healthcare, then returning to apply our understanding to individual patients is the essence of what we do as physicians, scientists, and health care professionals.
First and foremost, It is a great honor for me to announce the establishment of the Kaylie Kidney Health Center of Excellence. This center will explore the mechanisms of disease and bring these ideas into a spacious and modern clinical and research facility, certainly the finest integrated kidney health center in the country and one of the leading such centers in the world. We extend our warmest welcome this evening to the friends and family of Harvey and Gloria Kaylie, especially Alicia Kaylie-Yakobi, her husband Daniel Yakobi and their children, and guests. Please convey and extend my thanks and very best good wishes to Harvey and Gloria Kaylie, who unfortunately could not be here with us this evening. This outstanding donation will allow us to fight and innovate to prevent kidney disease and make life better for our kidney patients. We will hear more about Harvey and Gloria Kaylie and their family as part of this evening’s exciting program.
We also celebrate Rambam’s achievements. This past year has been exceptional as we forged ahead to expand and strengthen biomedical research by focusing on improving care for our patients in Haifa, Northern Israel, and beyond—to our neighbors—regionally and globally.
With the opening of the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center last year, many more cancer patients from throughout northern Israel are benefitting from newly available treatment approaches, including immunotherapy and personalized treatment based on cancer genetics, by our great professional and caring staff. The next major goal for our cancer patients is to secure funding for the Radiation Therapy Institute in the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center. Once completed, highly sophisticated radiotherapy facilities and equipment will enable tumor disintegration with surgical accuracy, sparing patients from unnecessary complications and suffering. We are actively seeking additional funds to complete this project.
Last month the cornerstone of the Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital was placed—a huge step forward to bring Rambam’s formidable cardiology and surgical expertise, experience, and vision under one roof. This giving from the heart of the Ofer family, Eyal, his wife Marilyn, and their daughter Olivia Ofer, continues the tradition of caring for the wellbeing of the citizens of northern Israel, expressed so definitively by the one-of-a-kind Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital.
Working together with the University of Haifa and the government of Israel, the Health Discovery Tower will be established here, at the heart of Rambam’s campus, between the clinical buildings and the Technion’s Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine. Building bridges between institutions, this 20-floor tower will house Rambam’s advanced clinical institutes, research centers of excellence, and the University of Haifa’s Life Sciences, Public Health, and Nursing programs, as well as Technion research floors, biomedical start-ups, and MedTech incubators. This historic one-of-a-kind collaboration between a major hospital, two universities, and commercial enterprises will secure Rambam’s position as a medical innovation hub that is unique in Israel and the entire world.
Another major achievement has been accomplished with thanks to our loyal friends Herta and Paul Amir. Next month patients will be entering the Herta and Paul Amir Neurosurgical Intensive Care Unit. On behalf of our staff and patients, who will be cared for in the most advanced facilities possible—thank you.
We are very proud of our research programs that benefit young physician-scientists and other health care innovators—central to our vision in creating the future of medicine. An Innovation Lab, under the auspices of Rambam MedTech—Rambam’s commercialization arm, was recently opened to help staff innovate and build their prototypes using state-of-the-art technology.
As an active partner in MindUp—the digital incubator founded in Haifa with industry giants IBM, Medtronics, and Pitango and Impact First, Rambam has assisted in screening more than 150 digital health and medical device startups, according to strict criteria of innovation and potential impact on human health. We were briefed about this exciting endeavor yesterday. Several companies are already on track. It is fascinating.
Amidst all this progress and growth—our primary task has remained to promote health and alleviate suffering. An increasing number of patients are coming to us from all over Israel, as well as Syrian civilians injured in their country’s horrific and tragic civil war. Rambam’s staff are involved in a myriad of humanitarian outreach efforts beyond our borders.
Before closing, I’d like to reflect upon the "Health in Israel" issue of The Lancet, launched last month in Israel, the outcome of his 2014 visit to Israel and our campus by Professor Richard Horton, one of tonight’s Rambam Award recipients. It took brave decisions on each side, to find a pathway of positive progress on difficult issues. Thank you, Professors Skorecki, Horton, Azzam, Manor, and Clarfield for your leadership. I thank the authors for their outstanding commitment and contribution to this magnificent document and springboard for the future of Health in Israel.
The successes and achievements of the past year fuel us with energy and optimism to face the many challenges ahead. As uncertain and disheartening as global events may be, here in Haifa, we find reason for hope every single day.
I thank our friends worldwide for standing with us and supporting us.
I thank our visionary friends, Eitan and Ariella who march with us on this miraculous endeavor.
I want to give a special thank you to all of our dedicate staff—the doctors, nurses, paramedical, and support teams who keep Rambam going 24 hours a day, sometimes running out of gas….
I invite you to join us and become part of our vision for the health of our patients, for medical innovations that shape the future of medicine, and for a better life for the people in our region and in our world.
We look forward to seeing you again at the 2018 Rambam Summit for our 80th anniversary celebration.
Professor Rafi Beyar
Director and CEO
Rambam Health Care Campus