Location: Sharett Institute of Oncology, 2nd floor
The inpatient unit has 17 beds with 900 admissions a year. The average stay is 8.1 days, totaling 6000 hospital days a year. The average occupancy has been 103% in the year 2001-02.
The inpatient unit is undergoing renovation, and is currently located on the “Bet” floor of the Sharett Institute. At present, there are 5 isolation rooms, and the other rooms accommodate either 2 or 3 patients. All rooms are equipped with HEPA filters (High Efficiency Particulate Air filters) for cleansing the air and reducing the incidence of infections.
Most rooms have a scenic view of the Jerusalem suburban countryside. For the patients' use, there is a bright lounge furnished with a television, as well as couches and tables, where visitors can sit with the patients when they are not isolation. There is also a kitchen, with a refrigerator for storage of any food the patients or their families may bring, and a microwave for heating food which is for the use of the patients and their families.
The inpatient unit is staffed on a rotating basis by any of the department's senior physicians, each of whom is responsible for supervision of this unit for three to four months of the year. In addition, Dr. Orly Zelig, of the Blood Bank, and Dr. Ora Paltiel (formally of the Department of Social Medicine, but also an active member of our Department) are responsible for one month each.
In this way, all of the Senior Physicians contribute to patient care and to teaching the junior staff during their months in charge, and each brings his own area of expertise.
In addition, the department is staffed by two to three Fellows who are doing their subspecialty training in Hematology, and interns or internal medicine rotating physicians, who serve in the department for one to several months.
Our nursing staff is composed of a fully trained core of hematology specialty nurses who work exclusively in our department. They must have at least several years of experience in general nursing, beyond which they undergo specialty training in caring for hemato-oncology patients. As such, they are specialists in the administration and complications of chemotherapy, the use of blood products, and all other knowledge required for providing the best of care to our unique patient population. They are not only outstanding in their expertise, but in their compassion and dedication. They are headed by Mrs Ronit Halperin, who recently undertook the job of head nurse after many years of experience in Pediatric Oncology.
Our pharmacy has a specialized team of pharmacists, led by Alexander Tabatchnik, who have many years of experience dealing with cytotoxic chemotherapy agents. These specialists are extremely helpful in providing information on newer agents, and oversee the preparation of each individual dose of chemotherapy under the absolute sterile conditions of the special Cytotoxic Chemotherapy Unit of the Pharmacy Department, located on the T3 floor of the Sharett Institute.
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