“… A society is judged by the way it takes care of its sick, disabled, old and, in particular its children …”
The Kaplan Medical Center (KMC), located in Rehovot, Israel, was established in 1953 and is one of the largest hospitals in the CLALIT network, Israel’s largest Health Services provider as well as the second largest health services provider in the world. KMC is renown in Israel for the excellent medical services it gives to the over 700,000 population under its care.
The Kaplan Medical Center is an academic medical institution. Affiliated with the Hebrew University Medical School in Jerusalem, it is a teaching hospital with over 40 wards approved for Residency Training as well as for teaching medical students in their clinical years. In addition, The Kaplan Medical campus includes its Nursing School, Radiology Technicians School as well as a School for New Immigrant Physicians who require additional medical training.
In 2010, the Kaplan Medical Center was examined (passing with almost 100% approval) by the Joint Commission International (JCI) and received its accreditation. The accreditation process assesses the health care organization to determine if it meets the international set of excellence standards requirements designed to improve quality of care. A JCI accreditation will afford the KMC to gain not only an international reputation but also to be recognized for medical tourism by international insurance companies. So far, only two other hospitals in the Clalit network were awarded such a recognition.
As a community hospital, the Kaplan Medical Center represents and consists of most advanced departments in all major medical fields and boasts a nationally recognized medical staff. Its medical staff collaborates with major academic and research institutions in Israel (primarily, with the Weizmann Institute of Science and The Hebrew University in Jerusalem) and abroad, to remain in the forefront of technology and medical standards.
At the time of its construction in 1953, this regional hospital located on a 62 acres campus, consisted of hastily built barracks to absorb the growing immigrant and local population of 50,000 spread in the neighboring towns and new cities.
Over the years, some of the hospital facilities were upgraded to accommodate the ever growing population of the area and its development plans include erecting more modern facilities to replace the original barrack structures. During the unprecedented influx of immigrant population in Israel’s history in the eighties and nineties, the population under the hospital’s care had grown proportionally and, as of today, it boasts over 700,000 people spread in Israel’s heartland.
Faces of the Heartland – “Our Patients”
Most of the population under its care ranges from a middle to low socio-economic classes. Most of them do not have independent means of transportation and depend heavily on the hospital’s services, including the ambulance services. The area had absorbed 39% of the Ethiopian immigrant population of Israel, the second largest in the country, which brings with it unique health issues. In addition, this population includes a large community of immigrants from the previous Soviet Union, a large Sephardic Jewish community as well as minorities (Beduins and Arabs).
Today, this over 600 beds medical center has 10 Operating Rooms, a 26 bed Emergency Room and admits annually over 60,000 patients. There are 130,000 ER’s admissions and 15,000 surgeries performed annually. Moreover, the hospital takes care of over 250,000 outpatients and delivers over 6,500 babies each year. See Facts & Figures
The medical staff of the Kaplan Medical Center is well known for their professional excellence and application of technology in all medical fields. ” They Heal the Heartland of Israel”