Festive Inauguration Ceremony PROFESSOR YITSHAK KREISS New Director of the Sheba Medical Center
In the presence of the Minister of Health, MP Yaakov Litzman; the CEO of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov; Dr. Orly Weinstein, Head of the Health Ministry's Government Hospital Division; the Mayor of Ramat Gan, Mr. Yisrael Zinger; past Sheba directors, Professors Mordechai Shani and Bolek Goldman; Sheba management personnel; family and friends, Prof. Shlomo Noy, the acting interim director since last February, officially and symbolically passed the keys of the medical center into the efficient hands of Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, the fourth director of the Sheba Medical Center.
All the speakers praised and emphasized Prof. Kreiss' leadership qualities and his professional abilities that will be of major importance in advancing and steering Sheba, the flagship of Israel's health system, into an exciting future in all fields of modern medicine including innovation, research and development of new technologies and technology transfers, breakthrough drugs and treatment modalities.
Education and sensitive patient care are deeply engraved in the Sheba flag and an essential part of the so called "Sheba Spirit".
Another important topic is to deepen the outreach and cooperation with other leading medical centers worldwide and providing humanitarian aid where needed.
Professor Kreiss, who is 51, received his MD at Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School. In the early nineties, he was an intern in one of Sheba's Internal Medicine departments, then headed by his mentor Prof. Yehezkel Sidi. Kreiss later received his professorship from the Hebrew University Hadassah Medical School.
Prof. Kreiss served in the Israel Defense Forces for a period of 30 years. Of notable mention were his positions as head of Planning and Chief Medical Officer from 2011-2014. During this time, he headed the IDF's aid missions to various disaster areas worldwide: Kosovo, Haiti, the Philippines and others worldwide. He was released from the army with the rank of Brigadier General.
Prof. Kreiss was very emotional when he delivered his inauguration speech. He mentioned the parallels between the hospital's first director, Prof. Chaim Sheba and himself, both having served as Chief Medical Officers in the IDF – Prof. Sheba in 1953 and Prof. Kreiss 60 years later. "To be at the head of such a huge medical institution as Sheba, there is nothing more important than the people who work there – doctors, nurses, technicians, researchers, administrators, and so many more – and to be focused on the goals you have set for yourself. I am working on a new strategic plan named "Sheba 2025" that I will develop and advance to the best of my abilities and, with your help, we will achieve my high-set goals. We will be able to share our pride and show the world what the "beautiful face of Israel" looks like.
"To you, dear Sheba Friends and generous donors worldwide, I sent my blessings on this very special day and vouch to do my utmost to make us all here at Sheba worthy of your support and belief in this great hospital whose leadership I have taken upon myself today. I promise to be sensitive to your needs and requests, and my door, my heart and my ears will always be open for you. I am not taking anything you do and did for granted. You chose us and we are forever grateful to have friends like you. Without you Sheba would not have become Israel's leading hospital. And you are part of it and part of us!"
