Professor Ofer Merin spoke at the 8th Annual Jerusalem Post Conference in New York in June 2019, captivating the audience as he discussed his role as the head of Shaare Zedek Medical Centre, the Head of our Trauma Unit and the Head of the IDF’s renowned mobile field hospital.
He spoke about how the hospital has doubled the number of patients it treats within the last decade and is planning for the future, by building new facilities and incorporating advanced technologies such as a special MRI machine for premature babies, and increasing the use of robotics.
Professor Merin also described his experiences heading the IDF field hospital over the past fifteen years in numerous mass-casualty events around the world. He explained that Israel’s mobile field hospital has received the highest rating from the World Health Organization, for the standards that it maintains. However, he shared that in his opinion, “…what separates it from others, is our values, our ability to treat people with the proper dignity.”
Professor Merin also described the staff’s dedicated efforts in the hospital’s Trauma Unit, which frequently has to deal with harrowing cases of terror victims and their rehabilitation.
He closed his speech quoting the Talmudic dictum, “Whosoever saves one life, saves the whole world,” expressing that Shaare Zedek is steadfast in its efforts to maintain and save lives. Watch his full speech here.