Rambam Medical Center in Haifa and the American Friends of the Rambam Medical Center announced Wednesday that philanthropists Joan and Sanford I. Weill and the Weill Family Foundation have made a commitment of $10 million to support and name the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department within the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital at Rambam, and the Joan and Sanford I. Weill Israeli-Palestinian Friendship Center at Rambam.
The news release from the hospital makes it clear that as much as they are seeking to save Jewish children's lives, the donors are interested in saving lives of children in the Palestinian Authority. However, the PA is silent about this and other medical assistance routinely provided to it by Israel and Jewish doctors and donors.
The news release emphasizes Rambam's ambition to provide maximum coverage for sick Arab children from the PA-controlled territories.
Nearly 300 children from PA-controlled territory in Gaza, Judea and Samaria are newly diagnosed at Rambam with cancer each year. In the past, The Pediatric Oncology department at Rambam has been able to treat no more than 50 per year. "The Weills' extraordinary generosity will make a tremendous change for the better,” the hospital stated.
“We are deeply grateful for this wonderful gift, one of the most important in the history of Rambam,” said Professor Rafael Beyar, Director and CEO of Rambam. “The Weills' extraordinary generosity, vision and support will greatly strengthen our medical center's ability to provide pediatric hematology and oncology services for all the children of our region.
Philanthropist Weill called Rambam Hospital "a unique institution comprising physicians, nurses and staff that is excelling in their diversity, their achievements in the field of medical science and innovation and their sensitive delivery of patient care."
"Joan and I have never been satisfied with what has already been accomplished,” he continued, and spoke of the couple’s resolve to work toward making Israel and the region “a happier, more productive place than it is right now.”
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department will comprise Rambam’s current Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department and its Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Unit, which will be merged into a single, upgraded entity housed within the new Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital. The latter facility is currently under construction, and is projected to be completed in 2013.
The new department will provide pediatric hematology and oncology patients and their families with a separate, entire floor to include inpatient and outpatient facilities, classrooms, playrooms, and age-appropriate visitors' corners.
According to Rambam's news release, the center will help the hospital "to better fulfill its role as the exclusive provider of comprehensive treatment in pediatric oncology and blood diseases for the approximately 600,000 youngsters of Northern Israel and, in addition, to better serve Israel's neighbors."
The Joan and Sanford I. Weill Pediatric Hematology-Oncology Department will be directed by Professor Myriam Weyl Ben Arush. “Thirty percent of Rambam’s pediatric patients are treated for chronic conditions such as leukemia, brain tumors and lymphoma," said Prof. Ben Arush. "The good news is that over 80% of these children are curable."