Sheba Medical Center in Israel Offers Free Medical Treatment to Casualties of the Fighting in Lebanon

Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital Opens its Doors to Children of all Nationalities: Contacts Cypriot Government to Offer Assistance to the Lebanese

Tel Hashomer, Israel, Prof. Zeev Rotstein, CEO and Director of the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Israel, announced today that the center's Edmond and Lily Safra Children's Hospital would provide treatment free of charge to Lebanese in need.

Prof. Rotstein contacted the Sheba respresentative in Cyprus to make the humanitarian offer, given that many Lebanese have fled to Cyprus.

"We do not distinguish between patients of any creed or nationality," said Prof. Rotstein. "In general, the Safra Children's Hospital is open to patients from across Israel, the Mediterranean region, the Palestinian Authority and the Arab world. Indeed, more than 15 percent of the cardiac surgery and cancer patients at the pediatric hospital are  children coming from abroad, including the Palestinian Authorities."

The Edmond and Lily Safra Childrens Hospital has 150 beds serving 8,000 in-patient admissions and 60,000 emergency room visits a year; more than 10,000 infants born a year, including at least 1,200 requiring special or intensive care.

The Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer is the largest medical enterprise in the Middle East, treating more than one million patients a year. It is situated on a 150-acre campus on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, with 120 departments and clinics and 1,700 beds, employing more than 900 physicians and 5,800 healthcare workers and support staff. The medical center uniquely combines a major Acute Care Hospital with a Rehabilitation Hospital.