Hadassah Medical Center has received the 2024 Volunteering Shield from the Minister of Health.
Hadassah’s Director General, Prof. Yoram Weiss, said: ‘We appreciate the work, the spirit of giving, and the mutual responsibility of the numerous volunteers at Hadassah.’
Hadassah Medical Center is the winner of the Volunteering Shield in the health system for the year 2024, awarded by the Minister of Health. The award was presented by the Minister of Health, Uriel Bosso, in an emotional ceremony held at the Hadassah Ein Kerem campus and the Hebrew University, to Talia Hirshman, Director of the Volunteer Department at Hadassah hospitals, Nurit Schatz, Volunteer Coordinator, and Sima Ben-Hamo, Director of the Human Resources Department at Hadassah.
The Volunteering Shield, awarded annually by the Minister of Health, is given to individual volunteers, groups, and organizations that, through their extraordinary work, make a special contribution to the advancement of health in Israel. The recognition is intended to highlight the volunteer actions of individuals or groups, both adults and youth, whose dedication and commitment to the tasks they have undertaken make them a role model for many.
This year, the minister also decided to award the shield to a medical center that promotes volunteering as part of its regular activities and announced that Hadassah Medical Center was selected thanks to its extensive volunteer system, which operates for the benefit of patients in all sections and clinics, allowing for the maximization of excellent service to patients and their families.
The Volunteer Department manages a broad and diverse volunteer system that integrates the dedication of committed volunteers into the daily work of the hospitals. The medical center’s management and the Volunteer Department ensure that they provide a comprehensive response to all the volunteers’ needs, offering them personal and professional support,’ according to a statement from the Ministry of Health.
‘The volunteers working at Hadassah, within the framework of the Volunteer Department, provide a wide and comprehensive response to all visitors to the medical center, belonging to all religions and sectors, both religious and secular, from Jerusalem and throughout the country.’
‘We have been blessed with no less than 900 volunteers in Hadassah’s two campuses, and they are integrated into various departments and projects, such as supporting families waiting outside operating rooms, a group working to improve the experience of mothers, and more,’ says Talia Hirshman, Director of the Volunteer Department.
‘In Hadassah, 50 registered organizations operate, managing volunteers according to their needs and specialties. These include national service girls, volunteers from the Scouting Movement’s service year, teenagers who come to volunteer in hospitals as part of an educational tourism program during the summer, students who volunteer through the Patient Experience Project in collaboration with the Hebrew University, and many individual volunteers, ordinary citizens from all sectors of Israeli society, who come to help in various hospitalization departments. The variety is enormous, but they all share a common denominator: the desire to give and help others, to dedicate their personal time to someone who needs it,’ she explains.
Talia, who leads the department in the Human Resources Division at Hadassah and is responsible for initiating and operating volunteers for various projects, says that even today, she is moved when a volunteer regularly comes to the hospital due to the professional and human care that a family member or close friend received, or because they themselves were a patient in the past.
‘Many people discover the possibility of volunteering and the need that arises precisely when they or a loved one are hospitalized. At that moment, they understand that a supportive hand, even if it is just to make a cup of tea, or the attention of a caring smile, means the world, especially to those who are in a difficult time during hospitalization or a medical examination. The medical staff gives a lot of themselves and definitely influences the positive patient experience, from the receptionist at the clinic to the technician performing the test to the nurses and doctors. But the volunteer has an advantage: they can focus solely on that specific help they came to provide and give it without interruption or involvement in anything else.’
According to the management’s vision of Hadassah Medical Center, the volunteer system is an important component in the patient service experience, and its contribution is highly significant. As part of fostering this value, the Volunteer Department at Hadassah provides a comprehensive response to all the volunteers’ needs, offering personal care and professional training to ensure they have all the tools necessary for quality and successful volunteering. Additionally, appreciation days are organized to highlight their work.
‘We make sure to thank the numerous volunteers who come through our doors, both individual volunteers and the many organizations, and we always want to emphasize how much we value their work, their spirit of giving, and mutual responsibility,’ said Hadassah’s Director General, Prof. Yoram Weiss. ‘Our Volunteer Department at Hadassah is a role model, and many organizations from across the country come to see it up close and learn how such an impressive mechanism operates. The Minister of Health’s Shield awarded to us illustrates how strong the spirit of our people is, and we are grateful for being chosen, along with our volunteers.'”