Jerusalem's Bikur Cholim Hospital celebrated the opening of
its large, modernized Emergency Department last week. The new
emergency room opened with eighteen beds and will eventually
have twenty-five. The department also comprises an initial
diagnosis center and a shock room, which will occupy the area
of the old emergency ward. The entire 2.5 million-dollar
project will be completed by Chanukah.
As the only advanced emergency room in the center of the
city, Bikur Cholim Hospital has served Jerusalem and the
whole country faithfully during many terrorist attacks and
has proven itself in times of catastrophe. It is a vital link
in the emergency system of the city's center and is swamped
with calls for medical help day and night, throughout the
year,»the hospital says. The emergency room's location, as
well as its outstanding staff, constitutes a crucial factor
in saving lives.
Although the emergency ward is equipped to handle fifty
emergencies at a time, in actuality, twice as many cases are
treated regularly. Bikur Cholim offers medical assistance to
hundreds of people on a daily basis, at all hours of the
day.
At the dedication ceremony, Health Minister Rabbi Shlomo
Benizri and the city's mayor, Ehud Olmert, stressed the great
importance of the hospital, noting the value of having a top-
notch medical facility in the center of Jerusalem.» Minister
Benizri promised financial support to the hospital, which
doesn't belong to Kupat Cholim or any government
institution.
The two chief rabbis, who affixed the new ward's
mezuzas, also spoke at the ceremony, as did the
chairman of its executive board, Rabbi Menachem Porush.
