Melbourne-based Professor George Braitberg visits Hadassah Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus, leading a toxicology workshop and strengthening clinical collaboration in emergency medicine and trauma care between Israel and Australia.
Professor George Braitberg AM, one of Australia’s leading emergency medicine and toxicology experts, recently visited Israel, providing training to emergency physician at Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospita in Ein Kerem and engaging with colleagues at Hadassah’s Mount Scopus too.
At Hadassah Ein Kerem, Professor Braitberg led a workshop on the acute management of toxicological emergencies, sharing Australian protocols and insights with Israeli physicians. He worked closely with Dr Ahmad Nama, Director of Emergency Medicine at Hadassah Ein Kerem. Dr. Nama, who hosted the workshop, previously completed a fellowship in emergency medicine at the Royal Melbourne Hospital under Professor Braitberg’s supervision.
The workshop’s advanced toxicology simulation was enormously important, particularly in training residents, explains Dr. Nama. “The simulation has a tremendous impact on our daily practice — especially when delivered by Prof. George Braitberg, whose expertise truly elevates the experience. It sharpens our clinical thinking, expands our knowledge, and provides us with essential tools to approach toxicology cases systematically.”
Dr. Nama further shared that the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) would now be sending a fellow from the pediatric ER to train under the Australian expert, with the aim of strengthening the field of toxicology in Jerusalem and the entire region.
“Our vision is for HMO to be a leading center in clinical toxicology,” Dr. Nama said. And indeed, in an effort to ensure that Prof. Braitberg’s expertise reaches emergency rooms throughout the country, the workshop was followed by a Zoom webinar, with participants from several of Israel’s key hospitals.
Prof. Braitberg later visited the Emergency Department at Mount Scopus with its director, Dr. Shaden Salameh, and toured the Gandel Rehabilitation Center, where he was deeply impressed by the scale and quality of care being offered to wounded civilians and soldiers.
Describing the meaningful professional exchange he had experienced during his visit to the Hadassah hospitals, he said his ongoing connection with the Hadassah Medical Organisation was a deeply personal story. “Proud to be an Australian and be associated with this wonderful organisation (Hadassah),” he posted after his visit.
This latest trip to Israel followed his earlier deployment as a volunteer physician at Hadassah shortly after the October 7 terrorist attacks. There, he joined local trauma teams as wounded civilians and soldiers were airlifted in from the south. “The entire team was ready in the trauma unit,” he recounted. “I was grateful to help and immensely proud of the wonderful people who work here.”
Professor Braitberg, who is the Executive Director of Strategy, Quality and Improvement at Melbourne Health and a Professor at the University of Melbourne, has a longstanding connection to Israel and the Jewish community. The son of Holocaust survivors, he said he felt a profound responsibility to contribute in Israel’s hour of need. “I’ve treated victims of forest fires, shootings, and other mass-casualty events, but nothing compares to what happened here. Not just the sheer number of lives lost, but the way in which it happened. It left an indelible mark.”
He also voiced concern about the climate in Australia, citing a rise in antisemitism since October 7. “My mother, a Holocaust survivor, has told me how disturbed she is by what she’s seeing. I ask myself, why does she have to be exposed to this again?”
Professor Braitberg’s time in Jerusalem underscores the enduring relationship between Australian and Israeli medical professionals. Hadassah Australia continues to champion this partnership, supporting life-changing initiatives like the Gandel Rehabilitation Center, which reflects the generosity of the Australian Jewish community and its commitment to healing and hope in Israel.
