The Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust announced an emergency grant of $11 million to hospitals across Israel on Thursday to help the country fight COVID-19, the novel coronavirus.
The money will go to hospitals throughout Israel facing the COVID-19 pandemic, in the center of the country and the periphery, and will be used to pay for establishing new isolation wards, intensive care units (ICU), medical equipment, and personal protective gear for medical personnel.
The Helmsley grants include $5 million for eight Clalit Health Services hospitals, with $2.1 million to help transform Hasharon Hospital into a dedicated COVID-19 facility, and $2.9 million to create two new COVID-19 isolation wards at the following hospitals: Soroka Medical Center, Kaplan Medical Center, Emek Medical Center, Meir Medical Center, Carmel Medical Center, Schneider Children’s Medical Center, and the Yoseftal Medical Center in Eilat.
In addition, Helmsley announced emergency grants of $1 million for COVID-19 facilities at the Baruch Padeh Medical Center Poriya, Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem, Rambam Health Care Campus in Haifa, Shaare Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer and Tel Aviv's Sourasky Medical Center, commonly known as Ichilov Hospital.
Over the past decade, Helmsley has awarded more than $340 million to Israeli institutions to improve access to healthcare, support for scientific and medical research, and strengthen the understanding and appreciation of Israel throughout the world.
“Helping the Israeli people in times of crisis is core to the mission of the Israel Program at the Helmsley Charitable Trust,” said Sandor Frankel, a Helmsley Trustee. “Israel is a nation that excels at rapid response in emergencies, but they shouldn’t have to do it alone. Helmsley’s support will help Israel’s outstanding medical personnel and frontline workers have the equipment and facilities necessary to protect their patients and themselves as they face the COVID-19 crisis. We continue to be involved in responding to the country’s emergency needs, and hope our support will galvanize others to help in this critical moment.”
“In these unpredictable and unsettling times, we must come together to support each other and those working on the frontlines,” said Professor Ehud Davidson, CEO of Clalit Health Services. “Helmsley has been a stalwart supporter of the Israeli people over the past decade, and their support now will undoubtedly save lives in the coming weeks and months.”