It is my honor and privilege to serve as Chairman of the Board of the American Friends of Kaplan Medical Center (AFKMC).
Kaplan Medical Center (KMC) is part of Clalit, Israel’s largest health services system and second largest in the world. For close to 60 years, Kaplan Medical Center has been committed to providing quality health care services to local residents, serving today a mostly middle to low socio-economic status population of over 700,000, right in the heart of Israel…
This mission means serving patients and their families, playing a major role in the community, and creating the best possible environment for everyone at KMC including physicians, nurses, technicians, clinical staff, volunteers and medical students, and, most important of all, patients and their families. This continuing commitment constantly requires addition of new services and improvements to existing services, in order to better serve the needs of everyone in the community.
The major project for now is the construction of a pediatric hospital. The existing buildings are three one-story barracks, built in 1953 where young patients are crowded into rooms with up to eight beds, with no privacy either for them or their families. Furthermore, there are no facilities for parents to stay overnight with their children, a real hardship especially for infants and toddlers.
KMC should justifiably be proud of its history of providing quality, accessible, dedicated and personal care to its patients. It has a caring and remarkable medical, nursing and hospital staff and a skilled administration and management team. But as we look toward the future, we have to continue to address the most pertinent healthcare needs of the KMC community. While there has been progress, there still is much work to do to continue improvements, remain committed to quality, and maintain KMC’s and its various workers’ passion for serving their community and provide compassionate care close to home. It’s the type of care you or a loved one would expect to receive from one of the top hospitals in the Clalit network.
In the past year, everybody has had to contend with the volatility of the financial markets in the USA, Israel and the rest of the world. This continuing turmoil in the financial markets makes the always-difficult healthcare environment even more challenging. It’s up to us, however, to help those in need.
Major gifts to KMC may be recognized through significant naming opportunities, allowing donors to attach their names, and those of loved ones, to an institution that cares for many thousands of children and saves numerous young lives each year. We would be happy to provide all of the pertinent information. Details can also be found on this website.
Please note that the parent organization, the Clalit, will match, dollar for dollar, every gift, major or small, raised in the U.S.
I invite you to explore our website as well as the KMC website at www.kmc.org.il
I hope that you will join the ever-growing family of the KMC’s supporters with a tax-deductible gift, however modest. Thank you.
Yours in good health
Jacques S. Abramowicz, M.D.
Chairman of the Board