On January 2, 2012, in the presence of an assembled audience of 450 invited guests and citing the new pediatric center as a ” revolution in pediatric medicine”, Prof. Jacob Yahav, the CEO of Kaplan Medical Center, cut the ribbon and dedicated the new KMC’s IDA CABAKOFF PEDIATRIC MEDICAL CENTER, after the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Yona Metzger, consecrated the new facility and affixed a Mezuzah at its entrance.
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony – From right to left; Rabbi Yona Metzger, the Chief Rabbi of Israel, Mr. Eli Dafus, Clalit CEO, Prof. Jacob Yahav, KMC’s CEO |
Affixing the Mezuzah; Rabbi Yona Metzger, the Chief Rabbi of Israel & Mr. Eli Dafus, CEO of Clalit |
The new Children’s Medical Center, the new home of the KMC’s Pediatric Department (which has been functioning in outdated and crowded facilities), is a technologically and logistically a state-of-the-art facility which will provide healthcare to over 60.000 children from among the 700.000 population under KMC’s care.
The New Ida Cabakoff Children’s Medical Center |
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It would provide suitable conditions for future growth and would be capable of accommodating more young patients. Its structure, in addition to two floors of inpatient wards,,the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and the temporary location of the Pediatric Emergency Room, has been built to the highest defense standards in Israel since the KMC is in the range of grad missiles from the Gaza Strip.
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In his message to the KMC’s management, the Israel’s P.M, Mr. Benjamin Netanyahu, called the new Children’s Medical Center the most modern facility of its kind in Israel..
Prof. Eran Littersdorf, the Dean of the Medical School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, with which the KMC is affiliated,, wrote in his special message :
“The Kaplan Medical Center is of a special importance to the State of Israel, as continues serving, without a comparable alternative, the over 700.00 population in the heartland of the country.”… and:
“ The new Pediatric Medical Center will considerably improve the training of the medical students, graduates of the Medical School of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, as well as our future physicians, who would benefit from the medical environment adjusted to the needs of the 21st century and to the growing needs of the patient population. The new facility would also be of great importance in training students of the department of Social Welfare studying both at the Hebrew University and at the Hadassah School of Medicine’….
The attending guests represented a broad cross-section of the local and national leadership– the representatives of the Israeli government,, leadership of the Clalit, Academia, mayor of Rehovot and mayors of neighboring cities, religious and community laders as well as the KMC’s medical staff. (See picture gallery)