The Soroka Medical Center in Beer Sheva has launched a unique project to locate and treat Holocaust survivors.
The issue of Holocaust survivors has been receiving wide public attention after years neglect by government authorities.
Studies over the past decades have revealed many survivors suffer from financial strain and poverty, complex health problems because of their unique ordeals, social isolation and a lack of awareness of their rights.
The social services department at the Soroka University Medical Center says it hopes to lead a change in the treatment of Holocaust survivors during hospital stays.
The new program, built in cooperation with the hospital's computerization unit, is designed to help locate survivors who may be in need of follow-up assistance at home following their discharge and to boost knowledge of their rights among survivors and their family members.
The program includes a computerized, up-to-date report based on the entry and exit of patients, using a cross-reference of demographic factors to identify survivors. The tool is designed to optimize efforts to identify Holocaust survivors, bypassing the need to rely on nursing care companies and welfare services.
Statistics gathered recently indicate a marked improvement in identifying Holocaust survivors during 2009, once the new system was in use in all wards.
In 2009 an average of 3.2 survivors per month were treated in each ward, compared to 2.49 in 2008. The annual average for 2008 point to 19.5 psycho-social interventions in dealing with Holocaust survivors and their families, compared to 26 in 2009.
This increase is especially significant since the number of living survivors decreases each year.
