An article published in The Australian Jewish News, December 22nd, 2023:
A LANDMARK agreement has been signed between Wolper Jewish Hospital in Sydney and the Hadassah Medical Organisation in Jerusalem. It envisages a deepening relationship that will deliver better rehabilitation outcomes to patients in both Israel and Australia.
The agreement was signed at Wolper’s recent AGM. “Wolper is very much guided by our Jewish ethos and the desire to continually evolve … to always offer the very best of care to our patients,” Wolper Jewish Hospital president at the time of signing, Richard Glass, said. “The establishment of the Gandel Rehabilitation Centre on Hadassah’s Mount Scopus campus presented an opportunity for Wolper to partner with a leading Jewish organisation with similar aspirations and values”. Glass said he reached out to Ron Finkel, president of Hadassah Australia.
Following extensive discussions, including several visits to Wolper by Hadassah executives, he said it was very clear “there was a meaningful alignment” and that each could assist the other in its mission. “This memorandum of understanding (MOU) plays to the mutual and complementary strengths of both institutions,” said Finkel. Wolper has a reputation as a rehabilitation centre of excellence. Hadassah, with the vision and significant financial support of the John and Pauline Gandel Family Foundation, is opening Jerusalem’s first dedicated rehabilitation centre.
The Gandel Rehabilitation Centre will offer 132 beds for acute rehabilitation and a wide range of additional facilities for the provision of chronic rehabilitation support. There will also be cutting-edge rehabilitation and research facilities, including the use of advanced robotics and technology incubators to shorten the rehabilitation process, as well as a range of outpatient services.
The centre will be the most advanced and largest in the Middle East. “The opening of the centre is currently being fast-tracked to address the surge of serious injuries that have been suffered by IDF soldiers and Israeli civilians due to the current conflict,” said Professor Yoram Weiss, director-general of Hadassah. “Since the beginning of the war, over 330 soldiers and civilians have been treated at Hadassah. Most of the victims were evacuated after being severely wounded and with injuries that required lifesaving surgeries or complex procedures. Dozens of the wounded victims will require prolonged rehabilitation”.
Glass said the opportunity for knowledge sharing, research collaborations and personnel secondments will have a material benefit in both Israel and Australia. “The MOU envisages professional exchanges which will both add strategic value and provide enhanced patient rehabilitation outcomes,” he said. In addition to the core focus on rehabilitation, this MOU highlights the deeply shared interest and commitment of both organisations in reducing the incidence of genetic faults in the community through comprehensive genetic screening.
Wolper has run its community genetic screening and pre-conception programs since 1995. Hadassah is the home of the world’s largest repository of Jewish community genetic data – and Glass said accessing that database and the skills and knowledge will enhance Wolper’s vitally important work in this area of community service.
