New state hospital authority to be headed by Esther Dominissini

Health minister says independent body will bring end to conflict of interests in ministry.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Shaare Zedek Hospital (photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Shaare Zedek Hospital
(photo credit: MARC ISRAEL SELLEM/THE JERUSALEM POST)
Esther Dominissini, who resigned earlier this year as chairman of the board of the Hadassah Medical Organization, has been named by Health Minister Yael German as director-general of the new authority of government-owned general hospitals.
 
Dominissini was previously director-general of the Israel Prison Service, of the Israel Employment Service and of the National Insurance Institute medical centers. Often controversial, she complained when at Hadassah that the board was not consulted about the recovery program made to restore HMO’s financial health.
 
German decided during deliberations that the government-owned general hospitals needed to be run differently and more centrally by an independent body. This, she said, would bring an end to the longtime conflict of interest caused by the ministry both owning and supervising the government hospitals.
 
The new authority will be set up outside of the ministry. This will leave the ministry with more time to serve as a regular of health services in the entire country. German said Dominissini was “the right woman for the job, I could not choose a more capable and suitable woman than Esti and am sure she will succeed in her job.”
The new authority will be report directly to the health minister by law.