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Page 32 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 14, 1986 Galleria Books, Ltd. Announcing Pat Balser, Manager Come shop where SELECTION & SERVICE MEET Rambam Hospital in Haifa gets liver transplant center 955-7043 s~,\ II PHONE ORDERS ACCEPTED Intersection of 1-285 & US41 Just 15 min from downtown 2 minutes — from downtown 1-75 & 285 Office Supplies— We supply everything you need for your office. Printing— Business and personal printing on the spot. We carry the latest styles in invitations, stationery and business cards. Call For An Open Account FREE DELIVERY Standard OFFICE SUPPLY AND PRINTING "SPEEDY SERVICE" 2271 Marietta Boulevard, N.W. Moores Mill Shopping Center Nathan Bromberg OVER 50 YEARS EXPERIENCE IN PRINTING 351-0685 by Carl Alpert — HAIFA Medical science in Israel took a giant step forward with the decision to establish a liver transplant center here in Haifa at the Rambam Hospital, backed up by the laboratories of the Technion Medical School, where work is being done on the devel opment of new technology and its clinical application. Ministry of Health approval of the Haifa location was pre ceded by many months of intense competition from hospitals in other parts of the country, which lobbied vigorously for permission to open the new facility within their precincts. The costs involved, and the need for highly skilled personnel made it obvious that Israel could afford only one such center. The two major competitors were the Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, and the Beilinson Hospital in Petach Tikva, but the decision was Finally made in favor Rambam, perhaps for three rea sons. One was the presence on its staff of Dr. Igal Kam, Israel’s oniy experienced liver transplant surgeon. A native of Haifa, the 40-year-old Kam has for the past several years been working at the Pittsburgh Medical Center, where human liver transplants were pioneered. During that period he took part in several hundred operations, many of them on Israeli patients who had come to Pittsburgh for new livers. The second reason was the close rela tionship between Rambam and the Technion School of Medi cine, which has pioneered in the partnership of technology with medicine. The third was very likely the generous decision of the Pitts burgh Jewish community, through the local chapter of the American Technion Society, to raise $500,000 to equip the center and to pro vide the funds required for the multidisciplinary research that is so necessary to assure the con stant and progressive development of the unit. There is no doubt that the new facility will be a godsend to many dozens of Israelis who are in need of such transplants every year, and cannot afford the expense of going to Pittsburgh, where local costs are also higher. The public battle for Ministry of Health approval cast some illumination on the fierce compe tition which exists among Israel’s hospitals in many other areas as well. Each of the major hospitals is much concerned by its public image, and constantly seeks to publicize its achievements and its needs. One obvious reason for this is to stimulate greater con tributions from its friends and supporters. Another is to en courage more patients to utilize its services, since the grants of public funds for hospital main tenance are based on the number of beds times the number of days they are occupied. Theoretically, each hospital is assigned an area that it is supposed to serve, but a high official in the medical establishment assured us that the area assignments are widely vio lated in the effort to increase occupancy. The major hospitals of the country fall into two catego ries—those operated directly by ‘LOVE’’ AND “UNDERSTANDING 99 TWO WORDS THAT ARE OUR FOUNDATION AND OUR PLEDGE While undoubtedly KING SPRINGS VILLAGE Health Care Center provides the finest nursing facilities in the South, our goal is to make our residents comfortable, happy, and secure by providing the ultimate in professional care and a wide range of social and recreational programs. That’s why KING SPRINGS VILLAGE Health Care Center provides the little “extras” that assure a feeling of privacy, dignity, and independence. Our emphasis is always on the quality of life. Extra care . . . Extra service . . . Extra interest. Let us show you “love” and “understanding” in action You are warmly invited to visit and observe firsthand our wide range of social and recreational programs, and to meet our dedicated staff. We are confident that you will like what you see. Kosher Meals upon Request Approved Admissions • Pleas** i nil li Mvciu are even days a week more inlormalioi KING SPRINGS VILLAGE HEALTH CARE CENTER 404 King Springs Village Pkwy. Smyrna, Georgia 30080 (404) 432-4444 Dave Morgan, Administrator Owned By: Henry & Barbara Grossberg Israel £. Yetra Goldberq the Ministry of Health, and those operated by the Histadrut health fund, KupatCholim. Major gov ernment hospitals are Tel Hash- omer, Rambam and the Wolfson Hospital in Holon. Principal Kupat Cholim institutions are Beilinson, Kfar Saba, Carmel Hospital in Haifa, and the new est addition, Shaarei Zedek in Jerusalem. The Hadassah Hos pital in Jerusalem is in a class by itself. During the war in Lebanon the Rambam Hospital received con siderable publicity because most of the casualties were flown di rectly from the battlefields to its helicopter pad in Haifa. The competition does not ex tend to staff, and there is little attempt to “raid” the respective institutions, since the salary scales are all fixed by national agree ment and are all the same. Kidney transplants are now fairly commonplace here, being carried out at all major hospitals. Beilinson is the leader, and this was emphasized in its bid for the liver transplant rights. Is the intense competition based only on the desire to justify and enlarge the allocations to their budgets, in the one case from government sources, and in the other, from the Histadrut? An eminent medical man was quite frank with us in advancing an other reason. “Prestige—ego,” he said simply. Each hospital ad ministrator, each department head, is eager to be known. The basic element of human rights and ambition play a major role, he said. After all, they’re human, like all of us. If w'e consider the classical Hebrew adage, that envy among scholars will result in increase of wisdom (kinat sofrinx tarbeh chochma), perhaps this kind of competition helps to advance medical science in Israel to the heights for which it is already known. We’ve got what you’re looking for! r BATHROOMS SHOULDN'T BE BORiriG M -/vs ( II _•> Complete bathroom renovations Plumbing repairs 4 installation Shower pans replaced MAKING DREAMS COME TRUE 4he-mosleii-both- (404)971-8162 MARK BRESSLER ITNN BRESSIER MAS If R UMBER JOLiRNf SMAN PlUMBI R OESIGNIR BUItGtR DESIGN SPECIALIST