Ziv_Medical_Center
Rebecca Sieff Hospital
Hospital in Safed, Israel
Rebecca Sieff Hospital (also Ziv Medical Center) (Hebrew: בית החולים רבקה זיו) is a general hospital in Safed, Israel that serves the residents of Safed, the Upper Galilee and the northern Golan Heights. Sieff Hospital has 310 beds and serves as a regional trauma center in the event of accidents, natural disasters, terror attacks and war. It is also serves as a teaching hospital associated with Bar-Ilan University’s school of medicine which is also located in Safed. The hospital also operates an urgent care center in Kiryat Shmona.[citation needed]
The maternity ward and pediatrics unit are the hospital's major departments. In 2007, there were 2,900 births (an average of 8 births a day) and 3,000 children were admitted to the pediatrics unit. The neonatal ICU and the Child Development Center offer health care for babies and children together with a team of medical clowns. The Accident and Emergency Department treated over 60,000 patients in 2007 and its Trauma Unit played an important role in the 2006 Lebanon War.[citation needed]
During the 2006 Lebanon War, the hospital suffered a direct rocket hit, which caused damage to the infrastructure, as well as injuring five patients, 2 doctors and two other staff members.[1]
Since the outbreak of the Syrian Civil War in January 2014, the hospital has been treating Syrians injured in the fighting. An estimated 9 million dollars has been invested in treating Syrian refugees alone. The Israeli Defense Forces and the Israeli government cover two thirds of the cost, while a third is covered by the hospital itself.[2]
In 2014, Salman Zarka was appointed director-general of the hospital, replacing its long-time director Oscar Embon. Zarka, born in Peki'in in the Upper Galilee, is the first Druze to head an Israeli hospital.[3]
In 2016, a child health center was opened within the facility. The center is located in a reinforced building, comprehensively addresses the needs of northern residents, and is designed to provide initial assistance in emergency events.[4]
Under the direction of Zarka, Ziv Medical Center led the humanitarian treatment of wounded in Syrian civil war.[5] About 800 patients were treated at Ziv Medical Center from 2013 to 2016, as part of the Israeli humanitarian aid to Syrian citizens. Under the initiative Operation Good Neighbor, 20% of wounded Syrians brought to Israel for treatment were treated in Ziv Medical Center as of July 2017.[6]
