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.
“I undertake this important responsibility with appreciation and awe for the Hadassah Medical Organization’s pioneering contributions to the State of Israel and the Israeli medical system,” Prof. Kokia said. “I know that as they have for decades, HMO’s 6,000 employees will be at my side as we continue the path that was paved by my colleague and friend Prof. Shlomo Mor-Yosef. And I know they will be joined by the hundreds of thousands of members, friends and supporters of the Hadassah Women's Zionist Organization of America, to help us continue to provide superb patient care and produce groundbreaking research.
“I eagerly await the opening of the Sarah Wetsman Davidson Hospital Tower, our outstanding new in-patient facility, which will enhance the Hadassah Medical Organization’s already extraordinary international reputation for exceptional excellence and look forward to working with my colleagues to help realize Hadassah’s historic mission.”
Prof. Kokia, 61, is a cum laude graduate of Tel Aviv University’s Sackler School of Medicine. A specialist in obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), he completed a Research Fellowship at the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, and served in the Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynecology at Israel's Chaim Sheba Medical Center. Although he subsequently moved to the managerial side of medicine, he has continued to mentor student doctors and nurses in his field.
After receiving a Master’s degree in Health Administration (MHA) from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Prof. Kokia joined the Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel's largest non-profit health care providers, encompassing 5,300 clinics, 5,000 physicians and a network of hospitals. He began his career at Maccabi as National Coordinator of OB/GYN services and Manager of the Women Health Center in Israel's central region, rising through the ranks to serve as Medical Director for the entire system before being named CEO in 2007.
Prof. Kokia enjoys an equally distinguished record in the Israel Defence Forces, where he served as Deputy Chief Medical Officer. After completing the U.S. Naval Flight Surgeon course of the Naval Aeromedical Institution in Pensacola, FL, he served as Commander of the Israel Air Force Aeromedical Center.
A prodigious researcher, Prof. Kokia has published widely in leading medical journals on his specialties – endocrinology, fertility and healthcare policy – and presented papers at important medical conferences throughout the world. For the past decade, he has taught at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and Tel Aviv University, focusing on Managed Care in the Community.