Dr. Ronni Gamzu replaces Dr. Eitan Hai-Am, who resigned over Barzilai bones affair.
By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICHRonniGamzu311(photo credit: Sourasky Medical Center)
The government approved on Sunday the nomination of Dr. Ronni Gamzu, director-general of Ichilov Hospital of the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, as the new director-general of the Health Ministry.Proposed by Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman, Gamzu will take office on June 1.He replaces Dr. Eitan Hai-Am, who resigned in March in protest after eight months in the job over the United Torah Judaism MKs refusal to move ancient graves to build a reinforced, much-needed emergency department for Ashkelon’s Barzilai Medical Center. Hai-Am last month was named director-general of Assuta Medical Centers.Gamzu, 44, a gynecologist by training, studied medicine at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and at Tel Aviv University’s Sackler Medical Faculty and also has a bachelor’s degree in law, a master’s degree in business administration and a doctorate in medical research.He has resigned from his post as a lecturer at Sackler as he readies totake up the ministry position, and also goes on leave without pay fromhis work as a physician at Ichilov.He did so at the demand of the Civil Service Administration and theHealth Ministry’s legal department, so as to avoid conflicts ofinterest, and has committed himself not to deal in his new positionwith matters relating to Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, which isjointly owned by the ministry and the Tel Aviv Municipality.Gamzu said he was “aware of the sensitivity of the matters in which Iwill deal, headed by determination of the ministry budget for 2011. Thehealth system’s main goal is to ensure the residents’ health, and I seeexpansion of resources for the public health system as my mostimportant task.”
