On Thursday, Israel inaugurated a new 8,000 square meter (that’s 86,000 square feet!) Emergency Room facility at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center (Ichilov).
The new facility is largely the result of a $28 million gift from Canadian Israeli philanthropist Sylvan Adams. The ER will be named in his honor. Adams, along with Israel President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Yair Lapid, and Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, were on hand for the festivities.
“Israel is already a leader on the world stage in medicine, with Israeli scientists and doctors bringing us some of the most important research, innovations, and care solutions.,” Adams said. “So it’s befitting that Israel should be a trailblazer when it comes to the provision of emergency care, and I’m proud this new facility will lead by example. At Ichilov, I am happy to provide the residents of the State of Israel with the largest and most advanced emergency room of its kind.”
The high-tech ER utilizes mobile robots (they are about 3 feet tall and look like an iPad on top of a Segway scooter) to help patients find their way through the facility. Plus, if a patient is well enough at check-in, he can self-triage—automated systems will check blood pressure, temperature, oxygen level, and more, and then put the results into the hospital system. Staff will be alerted if someone needs to move to the head of the line!
Another cool high-tech feature of the ER is that there is an app that lets patients know what is happening with their lab tests, x-rays, and overall treatment progress.
Prof. Ronni Gamzu, CEO of Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, hailed the new ER as a “medical and technological revolution.”
The ER mega-facility has 100 inpatient emergency beds and can double that in an emergency scenario. This is more capacity than any other Israeli hospital and will be vital in the event of a sudden influx of casualties from war or a terror attack. Unlike in other Israeli ERs, there will be professionals on hand from various fields such as cardiology, neurology, and dermatology. The ER also has a special place for patients needing psychiatric care or those who have suffered a sexual assault.
“This emergency room combines the very best the State of Israel has to offer — our incredible human capital that produces the best doctors, nurses, and medical teams in the world, and the technology of the high-tech nation that equips them with the most advanced tools in order to fight for our health,” Prime Minister Lapid said.