Continuing an important new medical partnership and collaboration, Hadassah International (HI) and Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) in Jerusalem recently hosted a high-level medical delegation from the Independent Public Clinical Hospital Number 4 (SPSK4) of the Medical University Hospital in Lublin, Poland.

Thanks to the support and help of this leading Polish hospital, Hadassah International, Hadassah Medical Organization, and Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America were able to set up a Humanitarian Medical Mission on the Polish-Ukraine border to help treat over 35,000 Ukrainian refugees escaping the war in Ukraine.

The Lublin hospital also subsequently provided teams to work in the refugee centers together with the medical staff from Jerusalem, and Hadassah trauma experts provided SPSK4 with advice on preparing for mass war casualties.

“Friends made in times of war are friends made forever” – Jorge Diener, Hadassah International Executive Director.

This relationship has continued to grow, and in early July SPSK4 sent Michal Szabelski, Ph.D., deputy director for Finance and Development, and Prof. Piotr Wacinski, head of the Department of Interventional Cardiology and coordinator of the partnership, to Jerusalem for four days to deepen the relationship that the two hospitals have forged. Dr. Szabelski expressed his interest in hospital management issues, while Prof. Wacinski came to see Hadassah from a medical viewpoint – particularly in the areas of Cardiology, Emergency and Trauma, and Research innovation.

A university-affiliated tertiary hospital, the Lublin Hospital occupies a similar niche in Poland to that of the Hadassah Hospitals in Israel. Even though the size of the hospitals and their patient base is similar, the Polish hospital is seeking to learn from Hadassah Medical Organization how it can maximize its efficiency both medically and financially.

Both hospitals want to develop future areas of cooperation for clinical research trials, fellowship exchanges, and business cooperation. As Poland is a member of the EU, this relationship opens new opportunities for Hadassah.

Besides extensive tours of the Hadassah hospital at Ein Kerem, highlights of the visit were meetings with Prof. Yoram Weiss, director general of the Hadassah Medical Organization; Prof. Offer Amir, director of the Heart Institute; Prof. Eyal Herzog, head of the Department of Cardiology, Prof. Chaim Lotan, Innovation Advisor and past director of the Heart Institute; Dr. Itai Gross, senior physician, Emergency Pediatrics; Orit Bitner, director of the Pharmacy Division; Yuval Adar, CFO of Hadassah Medical Organization; and Eyal Zelinger, deputy director general, Hadassah Medical Organization.

The visiting delegation was also very pleased to renew their contacts with some of the Hadassah International and Hadassah Medical Organization personnel who had participated in the Hadassah Medical Humanitarian Mission in Poland. This included extensive discussions with Dr. Ahmad Nama, senior physician of Emergency Medicine, and Dr. Asaf Kedar, senior physician, Trauma and Acute Care, who had traveled to Poland to advise SPSK4 about mass casualty preparations at the start of the war.

For their assistance, leadership and participation in the Hadassah Humanitarian Mission to aid Ukrainian refugees, the SPSK4 and its two representatives were given the Hadassah Certificate of Appreciation.

Both hospitals look forward to beneficial collaborative ventures in the future.