A new Herzog Hospital ward for children who are chronically connected to respirators will in the future include one of the first in-hospital schools of its kind in the world. The venerable institution opened the facility on Tuesday at a ceremony in Jerusalem’s Givat Shaul quarter.Nearly 30 respirated children who suffered abuse, road accidents, home accidents and other serious trauma as well as those disabled by genetic diseases live at the hospital. Some of them are on the edge of consciousness and almost unable to communicate with their environment, but they will have teachers who will work with them daily in a variety of activities.Dr. Yehezkel Caine, director-general of Herzog Hospital (which treats mostly geriatric and adult psychiatric and psychogeriatric patients, said that dedicating the new unit was a “holiday for us. This pushes us forward significantly in caring for children attached to a respirator. Donations to open it have made it possible to improve the children’s conditions and reduce the shortage of beds for these patients.Present at the ceremony were donors from the Wohl Foundation, members of the hospital’s board and executive and staffers. The unit will be filled gradually until it holds all children who are attached to a respirator, Caine said.