Professor Rafi Beyar - President of the Rambam International Friends Associations; Eitan and Ariella Wertheimer; Mr. Sari Greidinger, Chairman of the Israeli Friends of Rambam; Mrs. Meri Barer, President of American Friends of Rambam; Mr. Adam Emerich – the former president of American Friends of Rambam; Esteemed recipients of the 2019 Rambam Award; Professor Lloyd Minor, Dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine; Mr. Albert Frank and your beloved wife Patricia, Mr. Jacob Harpaz, the CEO of ISCAR; Professor Karl Skorecki, Dean of the Azrieli Faculty of Medicine of Bar-Ilan University; and the extended family and friends of Rambam:
It is my honor to open the 2019 Rambam Summit and welcome you all, in my role as the newly appointed general director of Rambam Health Care Campus. I often wonder about the twists and turns of life – how they affect both our personal master plan and provide us with insight.
After nearly 33 years at Rambam, I am experiencing a defining event – the honor and challenge to lead Rambam Health Care Campus. I’m proud to be the first that performed all of my training here. I was shaped and educated by some of the best of the hospital staff and I thank them all for that.
Medicine is not a profession, but a vocation – a way of life. Those of us who chosen a medical profession have made a commitment to our patients. A commitment that has always been and always will be our, and my , guiding light.
Who would have thought that the 1938 British Government Hospital would become this amazing Rambam Health Care Campus. Tonight we celebrate a dream that has become a miracle, achieved through the vision, dedication, and will-power of an amazing team of people, led by Eitan and Ariela Wertheimer, under the leadership of Professor Moshe Revach, and brought to reality under Professor Rafi Beyar’s leadership. We have actualized our vision for the 21st Century, a campus where medicine, education, science, and technology intertwine with humanity.
We are pursuing quality medical care through our devotion to human life, our empathy and dedication, and our exemplary medical and nursing teams who dedicate to each patient, together with the rest of our professional and support staff.
We have become world leaders in trauma management education, with delegations from the East and the West learning from us almost every day.
We are securing Israel’s lead as the start-up nation with our research and innovation ranging from digital medicine, stem cells, robotics, genomics, and more with a creativity, innovation, and passion that is beyond imagination.
Despite challenging economic constraints, Rambam continues to hold a high standing reputation among Israeli and world medical institutions.
This is exemplified by the hundreds of visitors discovering a new paradigm in hospital safety from the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital, while others learn from our outstanding teams throughout the hospital including in the new Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital, and the new Joseph Fishman Oncology Center. The finishing touches will be placed on The Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital by the end of this year, and the Helmsley Health Discovery Tower is moving ahead at a fantastic pace. There is no better place in the world to situate this tower for innovation than between a busy academic medical center, a university, and industry: Rambam, Haifa University, the Technion’ s faculties of medicine, faculties of engineering, and the Rappaport Institute, as well as nearby bio-technology companies.
This is OUR way of life – to bring health and healing to our people and our world.
The challenges facing Israel’s healthcare system in general and Rambam in particular, are endless. However, these challenges will not deter us. On the contrary, they will strengthen us and our commitment to continue to advocate for our patients and for public health.
You have walked with us along this amazing journey, and it is far from over. There is more to be done. We will continue to provide our patients with the best that medicine offers, knowing you are with us as well, and that you will make sure we have what we need to get there.
I want to thank all who have already joined us on this journey: Eitan and Ariella Wertheimer, Ruth and Bruce Rappaport, Sammy Ofer, Joseph Fishman and their families; Joan and Sandy Weill, Herta and Paul Amir, Relly and Brent Dibner, Michelle Kahn, Eyal Ofer, Irma and Aron Spencer, Betty and Dan Kahn, Efi and Eli Goldhar, Alan Forman and Jonathan Sonis; the Iskar family, the Helmsley Charitable Trust, the Wolfson Foundation, the Crown Foundation, and all the other foundations that have made Rambam their priority; and so many others.
Thank you, our Rambam friend organizations: Mr. Sari Greidinger – chairman of the Israeli friends; our American friends – with Mrs. Meri Barer as our president and Sol Barer, former president Adam Emmerich; Mr. David Green and Dafni Wagner from Canada; Anita Alexander Passé of the British Friends of Rambam; Ms. Vered Harel and the Australian Friends, The Indian Friends Mr. Ralphy and Yael Jhirad, the France Friends, Mrs. Joelle Abutbul; and all of our other friends from around the world.
I want to thank the amazing leadership team around me: Dr. Avi Weisman, Dr. Michal Mekel; Mr. Nissim Haim, Mrs. Gila Hyams; Professor Yehuda Chowers, Dr. Esty Golan, and Mrs. Zahava Talmor.
And my gratitude would be incomplete without recognizing the support of the Israel Ministry of Health and the municipality of Haifa. This miracle would not be possible without Rambam’s professional, committed, and devoted staff. I am privileged to work side-by-side with this amazing staff and thank you all for working through every challenge that has come your way.
Finally, thank you Professor Rafi Beyar for pouring out yourself for Rambam, and setting an example for me to follow.
Last but not least, thank you – my dear wife Marlene, our children, our grandchildren, and my dear brother Rubi. You have been the circle of support surrounding me throughout life, and give me strength.
Thank you all for being our partner friends in this amazing journey for excellence.
Have a great evening!
Dr. Michael Halberthal
General Director
Rambam Health Care Campus