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Home
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Your Medical Questions Answered!
by Joseph B. Leibman, MD
Director, Emergency Services, Bikur Cholim Hospital
As you have read in the Yated, I have been appointed
to run the emergency department at Bikur Cholim. While I
still am at Tel HaShomer hospital, let me explain what was
behind my decision.
The hospitals in Jerusalem are all at least semiprivate and
have been around for years. This does mean that some are
resistant to change. Bikur Cholim is a very old hospital
— 179 years old in fact. While the physical plant in
downtown Jerusalem does show its age, the hospital itself is
creeping out from some really bad times and has actually
become one of the best run hospitals in Jerusalem. The
hospital has balanced its budget, so cutting corners to take
care of huge deficits is less of a problem. This will lead to
better service. Moreover, the hospital is led by a young and
visionary CEO and medical director. I was impressed.
What does that mean for you? Well, this is what I want to see
for Jerusalem. First, Emergency Medicine is a specialty just
like Ear, Nose and Throat, or Surgery, and should be
practiced that way. We have discussed this in the past and I
am striving to create the first hospital in Jerusalem with
emergency specialists on duty 16 hours a day. As most
emergency departments in Jerusalem are run in the evenings by
internal medicine residents, I believe this will improve
quality. Furthermore, this will allow us to implement our
other plans — an institute for treating minor trauma,
especially minor auto accidents, and our painless emergency
department which will be highlighted by music for children,
sedation as necessary and all attempts to avoid the needles
by using other forms of local and more extensive anesthesia.
These important innovations will make for a more pleasant and
professional visit to the emergency department. I might add
that these ideas are already in practice in the western part
of the country as many Bnei Brakers may already know.
I am hoping for a lot, siyata deShmaya to help the
people of Jerusalem and, with these ideas, we hope to improve
the delivery of care and make your lives better. Write me in
care of the Yated.
A message from GlaxoSmithKline, sponsor of this
column. We haven't spoken about vaccines recently, and
sure enough, there have been outbreaks of hepatitis A.
Chicken pox season is just around the corner. Glaxo makes
these vaccines and I think they are important. People really
suffer from these diseases.
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