Professor Ofer Merin, the Director General of Shaare Zedek Medical Center hosted the Public Security Minister Amir Ohana and showed him the special units for coronavirus patients

Prof. Merin along with Dr. Sefi Mendelovich, Deputy Director General for Medicine, showed Minister Ohana the new department as well as the departments that are already treating patients. They discussed operations in the hospital during the pandemic as well as the needs of the patients and staff. Minister Ohana also spoke with Dr Ramzi Kurd, the Head of the Coronavirus Department and Dr. Philip Levine, the Head of our Zvi and Betty Ryzman Family Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and the Head Nurse of the Division, Tamar Keinan.

Minister Ohana was also provided with an overview of the services provided by the robot assistant being used in the departments treating coronavirus patients in cooperation with Raphael Advanced Defense Systems. He also spoke with several patients in the coronavirus department via video-conference. He shared, “I visited the Corona Department in Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem. I wanted to see up close the situation of the people who are ill and how they are feeling. I spoke with the Director General of the hospital, Professor Ofer Merin and his Deputy, Dr. Sefi Mendelovich, as well as members of the medical staff, and to my delight – also with a number of patients (using video conferencing).

The great suffering that these patients are experiencing, the difficulty breathing, the pain, the overall weakness, the loss of the sense of smell and taste – are just some of the symptoms that the patients shared. Today, I saw up close that one of the significant difficulties is a feeling of loneliness that sometimes remains even after the person recovers.

I want to take this opportunity to thank the medical staff. I saw from up-close their dedication, their caring and their big hearts. I want to wish a complete and speedy recovery physically and emotionally to all those who are ill.

We are not talking here about a “flu with public relations.” We are talking about a harsh disease that has already claimed the lives of 600,000 people worldwide. We know how to beat this disease: by wearing masks, observing social distancing and minimizing gatherings. Adhering to these three guidelines will slow the spread of the virus and bring us back to relatively continue with our day to day until there is a vaccine.”

Prof. Ofer Merin, the Director General of Shaare Zedek Medical Center said, “Shaare Zedek was prepared from the beginning to treat patients and today is leading in its knowledge of and experience with the coronavirus. We are constantly learning about the disease and its effects on patients and tailoring our treatment.

We learned a lot during the last six months and we are applying a lot of lessons we learned during the first wave. It is important that the government and the entire system know how to support the hospitals financially in the budget as far as equipment and manpower in order to best prepare for the coming months. We thank Minister Ohana for visiting and supporting our staff who work day and night to help our patients. ”