Ibn Pina was laid to rest today (Monday) in a ceremony held at the Sheba Medical Center at the Edmond and Lily Safra Children’s Hospital, and he received an independent children’s hospital license. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Director General of the Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman Tov, director of the medical center Sheba Prof. Yitzhak Kreis and Dr. Itai Pesach director of Safra Children’s Hospital.
In addition to them, the ceremony was attended by the Acting Minister of Health, Mr. Yoav Ben Tzur; The managers of the health system and the health funds, mayors and authorities, founders and veterans of Sheba, the management of the Sheba Medical Center, employees of the children’s hospital, dignitaries and other guests.
In the words delivered by the Prime Minister at the ceremony, he said that “the addition of a government hospital for children is a big step. From here, a line will come out at the national and international level. The possibility of giving children a medical and educational framework, without cutting them off from their daily routine, and while helping their families, is a great mitzvah I’m sure you will implement it in the best way that will make us all proud.”
The Prime Minister turned to Raya Geller (15), who has been treated at Shiva for about a year since she was diagnosed with bone cancer, and who moderated the ceremony together with Dr. Michal Golan-Malki, a specialist in the pediatric hemato-oncology department at the hospital, and wished her a full recovery: “Don’t stop believing,” he said , “in yourself, in your family, in the wonderful doctors and medical teams that are dedicated to your care.”
Raya, a resident of the South Golan, shared with the audience the challenges and difficulties in dealing with the disease, and said through tears: “At Safra, all the staff members help, support, encourage, strengthen and do not let any child break down. The Safra staff, all of them, are always with me in the most difficult moments, With so much sensitivity, a strong safety net that not only stops the fall but is also sensitive, pleasant and embracing.”
The Director General of the Ministry of Health, Moshe Bar Siman Tov, said: “As far as I’m concerned, one of our biggest challenges is to make Sheba’s excellence accessible to all residents of the country – both in the social and geographic periphery. The Sheba Medical Center is rightly considered one of the best hospitals in the world. There is an extraordinary combination of the most advanced medical infrastructure and equipment, exceptional quality personnel – and all this at a level of economic efficiency that is among the highest in the world. This hospital has heart and soul. Today, excellence and humanity are present in every department.”
Siman Tov addressed the challenges of the health system in the coming decade, including the development of additional advanced services in the community and hospital beds, home hospitalizations and the establishment of two additional general hospitals: “Shiva, based on its long-standing tradition of quality and excellence, should be part of our way to ensure that all these are services in practice that the citizens of the State of Israel receive.”
The director of the Sheba Medical Center, Prof. Yitzhak Kreis, thanked the employees of Safra Hospital: “Thanks to you, I can guarantee that we will continue to be a beacon of hope, of peace and an anchor of unity – in any situation.”
He also said that “the new Safra Hospital, like Sheba, is the state’s hospital. Reaching out and providing medical care to everyone, regardless of who they are, are one of our cornerstones as a country, as people, and as a hospital that is at the top of the best hospitals in the world. As is happening at this moment Indeed, we are preparing to lend a hand in preparing an aid mission for the victims of the earthquake in Turkey. Sheba Medical Center and Safra Hospital will continue to lead and respond to the challenges of the health system.
Dr. Itai Pesach, director of Safra Children’s Hospital: “Today we marked an important and significant milestone for pediatric medicine in the State of Israel, with the understanding that there is a need for hospitals adapted to the children’s population, which provide a comprehensive, advanced and genome-based response to all medical, emotional and mental needs of the child and his family. We will continue to lead pediatric medicine in Israel and in the world to new heights. Today Safra has become an independent hospital thanks to the many years of work of the founders, the doctors, the brothers and sisters and the staff of workers for generations.”
The representative of the Safra Foundation in Israel, Yair Tornheim, also spoke at the ceremony, saying that “thanks to the wonderful concern, compassion and dedication of the staff, Safra Hospital has become a magnet for patients from all over the country and the world.”
Also, a particularly moving moment was recorded when Dr. Itay Pesach’s mother, Nirit, was invited to the stage to present him with the Prime Minister, the Director General of the Ministry of Health and Prof. Kreis the license of Safra Hospital. At the end of the ceremony, which was held on Tu Bashvet, the Prime Minister, the Director General of the Ministry of Health, a representative of the Safra Foundation in Israel and the head of the Division of Government Hospitals in the Ministry of Health, Dr. Dodo Dagan, placed the cornerstone next to the children’s tree, on which were hung words chosen by Safra staff and children express hope for good health and an optimistic future.