An Interview with Prof. Ehud Kokia, Director General, Hadassah Medical Organization – The Jewish Week, February 1

Rabbi Yaakov Mann Rakovski, who served as Rabbi of Hadassah Medical Center for fifty years, passed away.

The Hadassah University Medical Center is the only place in Israel that provides AIDS Fertility Treatments for couples where the male is a HIV carrier.  

AH new club for women who gave birth and pregnant women was opened recently in the two Hadassah hospitals. The club offers a supportive environment and a close follow up during pregnancy, free of charge birthing course, reduced price tests, reduced prices on equipment for the mother and the baby, and benefits at the Hadassah Ein-Kerem Baby Hotel.

Research recently conducted at the Hadassah University Medical Center  demonstrates that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is more effective than drug therapy in preventing the development of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) .

New study recently published highlighted the importance of the identification of a gene that plays a major role in sexual development and its contribution to existing knowledge of genes that affect ovarian development and the ovulation process.

An innovative procedure to remove cancerous tumors from the gastrointestinal tract was performed at the Hadassah University Medical Center’s Institute of Gastroenterology and Liver Diseases recently. Using special instruments inserted through an endoscope – a surgical tool used to examine body cavities – surgeons ‘peeled’ the lesion from the gastrointestinal wall.

Prof. Ehud Kokia will start tomorrow (Tuesday) his position as Director General of Hadassah University Medical Center. He succeeds Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, who served as Hadassah Director General for the last 11 years.

 New Israeli Goodwill Ambassadors in South Sudan, China & Nigeria after graduating the Hadassah-Hebrew University Braun School of Public Health International Masters in Public Health Program.

Hadassah saluted Prof. Jacque Michel last week in a very special seminar on Ethics in Medicine. Prof. Michel completed 10 years of volunteering as Chair of HMO Helsinki Committee.

Three families whose lives were intertwined by organ transplantation, met recently at Hadassah.

Hadasit - the Technology Transfer Company of Hadassah Medical Organization has launched in Afula last Friday WAYS, an incubator for joint Jewish-Arab biomed ventures in Northern Israel. The name of the new incubator is the acronym of the names of the four founders -  Wafa And YaronS.

For the first time in Israel, doctors at Hadassah’s Heart Institute used an innovative catheterization tool to successfully perform a new procedure on a 72 years old woman suffering from severe and uncontrolled chronic hypertension (high blood pressure). The minimally invasive outpatient procedure, which takes only 40 minutes to perform, blocks the over functioning nerves and permanently lowers blood pressure.

After arriving by public or private transportation, patients, visitors and staff will now access the Ein Kerem campus through a new entrance from the commercial center.

A new clip presents HMO and its workers wishing "get well soon" to everybody

After treatment at an innovative fertility program for HIV positive males at the Hadassah University Medical Center, a healthy baby was born to an HIV positive father and an HIV negative mother.

Hundreds of researchers and clinicians from all over the world will participate in the annual conference of the European Hair Research Company in Jerusalem this week. The efforts to identify hair stem cells that can lead to the development of innovative treatments for chronic diseases, will be among the unique areas of discussion during the conference.

Hadasit Bio-Holdings, Ltd. - (OTCBB: HADSY), a publicly traded portfolio of biotech companies all based on intellectual property developed and owned by Hadassah University Hospital, Israel’s foremost medical research center, announced that it has listed and begun trading of American Depository Receipts (ADR) through BNY Mellon.

Prof. Laufer , Chairman of the Department of OBGYN, received last night one of the most distinguished civil awards in Israel – The Annual Medal of Distinction presented by the Israeli Association for Medicine & Law.

Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Director General of Hadassah, expressed today his deep sorrow on the death of Charlotte Bloomberg.

Sarah Drew and Keith McKidd, stars of Grey’s Anatomy, Lucas Neff of Raising Hope, and Travis Milne of Rookie Blue visited Hadassah.

NasVax announces the positive results of a Phase 2a clinical trial of a new oral immunotherapy for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH), an inflammatory disease associated with fatty liver disease and the metabolic syndrome.

This immunotherapy originated as a joint project between Brigham and Women’s Hospital-Harvard University in Boston and Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Jerusalem.

BrainStorm Inc., a leading developer of adult stem cell technologies and therapeutics, and Hadasit, the technology transfer company of the Hadassah Medical Organization, announced today that Israel's Ministry of Health (MOH) has approved the Phase I/II clinical trial of NurOwn™, BrainStorm’s autologous stem cell therapy for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (often referred to as ALS or Lou Gehrig's Disease).

The results of a recent research study conducted at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem demonstrated that the Body Mass Index (BMI) of children who receive additional physical education classes at school is considerably lower than those who do not. The results of the research were published recently in the prestigious medical journals Nature and the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

The new Marlene Greenebaum Multidisciplinary Breast Center, headed by Dr. Tamar Sella from the Department of Radiology, was opened on April 12^th.

Rakefet Arieli, Head nutritionist at Hadassah Optimal Sports Center, received the International Olympic Committee's Diploma in Sports Nutrition at Lausanne, Switzerland.

The Hadassah Convoy annual memorial ceremony will take place on Apr 7 at Hadassah Mt. Scopus Hospital to commemorate 63 years since the battle.

Physicians from Hadassah’s Patricia and Russell Fleischman Center for Women’s Health were among the featured participants in the observance of International Women’s Day at the Knesset (Israel's parliament) on March 8, 2011.

Based on research conducted at the Hadassah University Medical Center, Immuron, an Australian biopharmaceutical company, is developing medications to treat the flu and other conditions and diseases.

A new, state-of-the-art neurosurgical microscope was recently installed in the operating rooms at Hadassah-Ein Kerem for the use of the Department of Neurosurgery.

The Heart Institute at Hadassah-Ein Kerem has established a special unit that will offer psychological assistance to hospitalized and released patients.

For the past few months, Arabic and Russian-speaking patients at Hadassah-Mt. Scopus have been able to avail themselves of a free and professional translation service, thanks to the collaboration between the Hadassah Medical Organization, the Jerusalem Foundation, the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and volunteers from the community.

A new book edited by Prof. Raphael Gorodetsky, PhD, Head of the Laboratory of Radiology and Biotechnology at Hadassah’s Sharett Institute of Oncology and Richard Schafer, of Harvard University’s Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, calls for closing gap between the great theoretical expectations of stem cells and the actual capabilities of stem cells for regenerative medicine and technology.  

In a clinical presentation on “Infant Deaths in Israel: SIDS and Other Causes of Death,” Dr. Eli Eisenstein of the Department of Pediatrics at Hadassah-Mt. Scopus stated that “Although the causes of death of healthy infants are unknown, they can be found".

A young couple from India turned to Hadassah for help in treating their daughter who suffers from thalassemia, Hadassah physicians offered a unique solution.

Hadassah has installed a revolutionary new Computerized Tomography (CT) scanner – the first of its kind in Israel – at its Mt. Scopus University Hospital. The new OPTIMA CT660, manufactured by General Electric, has demonstrated consistent high image quality at a dramatically low dose across examination types and body regions. It produces up to 128 pictures per round, providing information for fast and definitive diagnoses while patients stay calm and comfortable, without anesthesia.

Western women in their fifties are in the prime of their professional and personal careers. Yet at this age the impending onset of menopause – with its physical and emotional changes – might affect their quality of life.

Recent research by Dr. Ronit Haimov-Kochman of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Hadassah-Mt. Scopus describes some of the causes.

Dr. Ian Miskin, from the Department of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases, and an infectious diseases consultant at Clalit Health Services, headed a research group, which examined bacteria cultures taken from Haiti earthquake victims. In a letter published last week in the New England Journal of Medicine, the research team he headed recommended that the current protocols for treating infected wounds of natural disaster victims be reconsidered. Their conclusions have already received a complimentary reference in the prestigious magazine Nature.

Members of the HMO staff, the contractors and many of the workers involved in the construction of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower celebrated the official completion of the building’s 19-story concrete skeleton – three months ahead of the scheduled date.

A class on Hebrew poetry for teenagers hospitalized in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry led to a unique photography exhibit on display at the Jerusalem Theater.

In a move to unify its services for people suffering from liver and digestive tract diseases, the Hadassah University Medical Center has established an integrated institute to be headed by Prof. Ran Oren as of March 1, 2011.

The well-known and scientifically corroborated mind-body connection led Hadassah to establish the first psycho-dermatology clinic in the greater Jerusalem region for people suffering from a broad spectrum of dermatological conditions and diseases.

Two surgical procedures for the treatment of complex pelvic organ prolapse, assisted by the Da Vinci robot were recently performed at Hadassah Ein Kerem by Dr. David Shveiky and Dr. Avi Ben Shushan for the first time in Israel.

Shortly before International AIDS Day, a 27-year-old woman and her husband announced that she was pregnant – and that the baby was free of the HIV virus – thanks to AIDS Center at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Center.

Hadassah researchers presented the positive results of their Phase I clinical trial for their medication 124-IMM to the annual convention of The American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD) in Boston last week. Prof. Yaron Ilan, Director of the Hadassah University Medical Center’s Department of Medicine A, headed the research team that developed the novel medication.

An international research study involving 400 patients in 13 medical centers further proved the effectiveness of BreathID, a diagnostic device to measure liver function developed at the Hadassah University Medical Center. The study, conducted at eight leading American medical centers and five in Israel, measured BreathID’s diagnostic effectiveness in comparison with the conventional liver biopsy. The positive results will spur the continued development of the unique exhaler.

Hadassah's annual Research Day was held on October 19, in which prestigious NSF grant recipients presented their research projects and results.

A fire drill was recently held in the Charlotte Bloomberg Mother & Child building as a part of large scale drill, which encompassed the entire Jerusalem municipal area.

A team from Hadassah Medical Organization headed by Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef, Hadassah's Director General, met earlier this week in Nicoisia with Dr. Christos G. Patsalides, Cyprus' Minister of Health and other leaders of the Cypriot health system.

Final Ministry of Health Approval for ALS Clinical Trials at Hadassah Medical Center. The clinical trial will be conducted by Prof. Dimitrios Karussis director of the MS center at Hadassah's department of neurology, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, Head of the Neurology Department.

Ten East African physicians with an expertise in AIDS research, prevention and treatment recently participated in a unique program that provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and advances consultation and collaboration between Israeli and African universities and hospitals.

A genetic mutation found in one of each 20 Caucasus Jews, is a reason for infants' brain and cerebellum atrophy. Hadassah researchers from the department of Genetics and Metabolic Diseases identified the gene.

Regina Sixt, owner of Sixt Group, the giant car rental international conference, received the "Citizen of the World" prestigious award from Hadassah International in Jerusalem last week.

Against almost all odds, 28-year-old Arin Nasser gave birth to a healthy baby boy a week ago thanks to a unique procedure that involved removing, freezing and implanting slices of her ovarian tissue. 

Hadassah purchased a new, state-of-the-art lithotripter, the Dornier Gemini, the leading machine in the field. Its high degree of flexibility allows physicians to perform both endourology and lithotripsy with an outstanding degree of accuracy and less discomfort to patients.

When the large brain aneurysm of 35-year-old patient doubled its size in ten days, Prof. Jose Cohen and his colleagues in the Department of Neurosurgery at Hadassah-Ein Kerem pioneered a new technique to save his life.

Renowned orthopedic trauma experts gathered in Tel Aviv recently to discuss new surgical treatments for their patients. Prof. Rami Mosheiff, Head of Hadassah’s Orthopedic Trauma Unit and newly-appointed Chairman of AO Trauma Europe, chaired the event that featured a presentation on Hadassah’s pioneering use of computer guided surgery for difficult and complex injuries.

Our heartfelt wishes for a year filled with good health and an abundance of love, friendship and caring.

The Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mr. Yukiya Amano, visited Hadassah yesterday, while staying in Israel for a work visit.

Inspired by a Hebrew children's book "There are no Such Lions" (written by Amy Rubinger), the teenagers decided to create a lion sculpture made of paper mache and give it to the children in the Department of Pediatric Oncology Hematology at Hadassah.

For the first time in Israel, taxi drivers will install in their taxis safety seats for newborns, who were released from the hospital. This is a joint initiative of the Department of Obstetrics, the Department of Neonatology and the Department of Emergency Medicine at Hadassah, "Beterem" Organization   (The National Center for Children's Safety & Health),  and Hadassah Taxis station to install safety seats within the taxis in order to safely transport newborns from the Maternity Ward and Department of Neonatology back  home.

Hadassah Medical Organization, with the cooperation of "MyDoctor" website, recently held a photography contest. The leading 15 photos were portrayed at the 4th Israel Conference for Medicine, held on August 4, at the Jerusalem Convention Center.

1,300 people attended the 4th annual Israel Conference for Medicine initiated and organized by Hadassah Medical Organization. Among the participants were deputy minister of health Yaakov Litzman; Mayor of Jerusalem Nir Barkat;  Cyprus's minister of health Christos Patsalides; Ambassadors; Hospital managers; senior ministry of health officials; IDF Surgeon General Brigadir General Dr. Nachman Ash; hospital management, and many other experts from the Israeli health system.

From now until the end of August, the Jerusalem Theater’s vast lobby is displaying “The Healing of the Daughter of My People – Hadassah, the Early Years,” a pictorial exhibit of some of Hadassah’s activities in pre-State Israel and during the first decades of the State.

A 33 year old patient, who had a heart implant 5 years ago, gave birth to a pair of twins in a cesarean section.

A very successful annual drill, which simulated multi-casualties terrorist attach, ended the trauma course for 6^th year students at Hadassah.

Industrial Design students from Bezalel Academy presented their artworks in the field of human engineering in medical surrounding at Hadassah.

Judge Dorit Beinisch, President of Israel's Supreme Court, keynoted the convention marking the first anniversary of the Hadassah Medical Organization’s Bat-Ami Center for sexual assault victims. “It's impossible not to be overwhelmed by the mission you took upon yourselves,” said Judge Beinisch, praising the initiative and the professionals who support the victims.

A new Cyclotron was installed at Hadassah University Hospital in Ein Kerem recently.

First at Hadassah, Dr. Uzi Izhar, Head of the General Thoracic Surgery Unit, performed along with Dr. Mark Ginsburg, a cardiothoracic surgeon from Columbia Presbyterian hospital, a transplant of a diaphragmatic / phrenic nerve stimulator to pace the 2 side diaphragm muscle.

The annual Israel Conference for Medicine will be held on August 3^rd., in Jerusalem. Initiated four years ago by Hadassah Medical Center and "Ha'ir" newspaper, it will discuss issues between medicine and society with a collaboration of of Bnei-Zion Medical Center and Maccabi Health Services.

Annual Hadassah conference for risk management held at Hadassah Hospital.

A first of its kind presentation was held at Hadassah Ein Kerem hospital last week, where two laparoscopic and robotic hysterectomies were performed by Dr. Avi Benshushan, director of the Onco-gynecology unit at Hadassah, and Dr. Jacob Tangir, an expert in minimally invasive cancer and pelvic surgery (laparoscopic & robotic) from the Center for Gynecologic Oncology in Florida, USA.

Recently Hadassah commemorated the annual  international no smoking day with a variety of activities and events in the hospital. These included providing information about the risks of smoking, reinforcement of Hadassah policy of non smoking within and close to its facilities and  honoring Hadassah personnel who stopped smoking recently.

The annual research faculty day of the Faculty of Dental Medicine of the Hebrew University-- Hadassah in Ein Kerem was held for the twelfth time. The annual research day summers the current scientific abilities of the faculty's laboratories and departments, as well as enables social gathering, in which all the members of the Faculty take part, including, the teaching staff, and the students.

The "children's hallway" was inaugurated in a modest ceremony at Hadassah Ein Kerem. The ones dark and gloomy corridor walls underwent a complete "face lift" and were covered with spectacular wall paintings.

As the news from Gaza started to come in this morning, it was clear that today may bring some action to Hadassah as well. At 10:30, an Israeli Airforce helicopter landed at Hadassah Ein Kerem helipad with four wounded (all foreign citizens) who were injured in the scuffle at sea by the Gaza shore.

As the news from Gaza started to come in this morning, it was clear that today may bring some action to Hadassah as well. At 10:30, an Israeli Airforce helicopter landed at Hadassah Ein Kerem helipad with four wounded (all foreign citizens) who were injured in the scuffle at sea by the Gaza shore.

On Wednesday, June 9, 2010, an exhibition opening will be held in Hadassah Mt. Scopus. The exhibition will include patients' and Bezalel's students' artworks, which express the meaning of the process they had with the patients.

Bezalel labs and Hadasit have signed a first of its kind agreement for development and commercialization of products bases on students' ideas during the school year. The products will be developed for commercialization by Bezalel labs, in cooperation with Hadasit.

Three women from Jerusalem gave birth yesterday to three sets of twins in Hadassah En Kerem Hospital: a boy and a girl each

The Chagall Windows will be closed to visitors till the end of July 2010.

In the beginning of April 2010, a new men's fertility center for HIV carriers has started its operation in Haddasah Ein Kerem.

Researchers at Jerusalem’s Hadassah University Medical Center have developed a novel strategy to derive and culture human embryonic stem cells in suspension. This breakthrough may be the key to developing systems to manufacture the enormous quantities of stem cells required to treat millions of patients.

Prof. Itamar Raz, Director of the Diabetes Unit at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem, will co-chair the large international research trial, SAVOR (“Saxagliptin in Assessment of Vascular Outcomes Recorded in Patients with Diabetes Melliuts”) to assess the effects of saxagliptin,( Onglyza™ - a novel DPP4 inhibitor medication which enhances response to incretin, a hormone that works to increase insulin activity) on cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients. Prof. Raz will co-chair the study in collaboration with Dr. Eugene Braunwald, Chairman of the TIMI (Thrombolysis in Myocardial Infarction) Study Group of Boston, USA, a world leader in conducting clinical trials that assess the care of patients with coronary artery diseases. The SAVOR study is sponsored by the Bristol-Myers Squibb/AstraZeneca Diabetes Collaboration, which is dedicated to global patient care, improving patient outcomes and creating a new vision for the treatment of type 2 diabetes.

Dr. Mordechai Duvdevani, Director of Endo-urology and Lithotripsy in the Department of Urology at the Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem, has been elected to an elite international committee that determines which medical centers throughout the world will be authorized to conduct fellowships in endo-urology.

For the past five years, Hadassah has been the home for a unique and one of a kind voluntary project. The project brings together medical students from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and patients and their families during their hospitalization. The student volunteers offer patients and their families their attendance, a sympathetic ear and emotional assistance as well as participation in daily activities and communication with the medical staff.

Hadassah opens one-of-a-kind information center to help patients and their families with issues of hospitalization, release, aftercare, and home treatment.

Chanukah Sameach!