Administrative director of Bikur Cholim resigns

Moshe Hevroni resigns over troubled Jerusalem hospital’s financial situation.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
Bikur Holim hospital 521 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Bikur Holim hospital 521
(photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem)
Jerusalem’s financially troubled Bikur Cholim Hospital is again in danger of closing, as its administrative director, Moshe Hevroni, resigned this week over a lack of funding.
Hevroni, a former official of Kupat Holim Meuhedet who was appointed to the hospital post earlier this year, announced his resignation, saying he could no longer take responsibility for the hospital’s functioning. Senior officials confirmed the resignation, which was reported on a haredi (ultra-Orthodox) radio station.
Bikur Cholim, located in the center of town, serves the haredi community that resides there, as well as other sectors of the Jerusalem population, and has nearly closed numerous times due to management and budget crises.
Purchased by former Russian oligarch Arkadi Gaydamak, the hospital no longer receives financial assistance from him.
The situation seemed to have been improving recently, however, and in the last half-year, Bikur Cholim had not been featured in any negative headlines. The hospital also opened new delivery rooms and, with the National Insurance Institute covering the cost of deliveries, had a guaranteed income from births in the haredi community.
This allowed it to continue operating quietly.
Hevroni said the institution feared it would have to close its gates because of its “failure to meet financial commitments, and the refusal of the state to grant credit and financial aid” to the hospital.
He said Bikur Cholim had explained its predicament to the Health Ministry and requested help.
Asked to comment, the ministry said it “is in favor of the continued functioning” of the hospital and that Deputy Health Minister Ya’acov Litzman (a Ger Hassid and United Torah Judaism MK) “has done much... to ensure that it continues to exist. He will continue to stand at the side of the board to find a solution for the difficult financial situation there.”
The ministry said it had not yet received a letter of resignation from Hevroni.