Sheba was the first to step up, and lead the national effort in fighting the coronavirus - mobilizing immediately to receive the Israeli passengers stranded in isolation on a cruise ship off the coast of Japan and establishing the first and most comprehensive unit for the treatment and care of coronavirus patients.
We worked day and night to provide ideal conditions and optimal medical response for these patients, setting up dedicated wards - some the first of their kind worldwide, such as the psychiatric coronavirus ward, and introducing and promoting technologies in tandem with ground-breaking research.
Despite the corona pandemic, we have ensured a continuum of hospital routine, by investing major efforts and resources to provide non-coronavirus patients with all the medical services they require.
Besides all this, we remain committed to promoting and developing Israel's first City of Health, and obligated to providing quality healthcare, as expected from a top tier medical center ranked amongst the top 10 best hospitals in the world.
I remain inspired by your willingness to share in shouldering the responsibility with us. Your friendship and partnership touch us deeply.
Together we shall continue leading the public healthcare sector, and creatively reinventing the future of medicine.Yours,
Prof. Yitshak Kreis
Prof. Yitshak Kreiss Signs Historic Agreement with Abu Dhabi’s APEX Investments
When the White House issued a personal invitation to Sheba Medical Center’s Director General, Prof. Yitshak Kreiss to attend the “Peace to Prosperity” summit in Manama, Bahrain (June 2019), the opportunity to forge alliances with prominent American politicians, Gulf Arab leaders, businessmen and healthcare professionals was set in motion.
Prof. Kreiss engaged all with enthusiasm, outlining his vision for peace and prosperity through innovative healthcare initiatives where hope has no boundaries.
“Healthcare transcends politics, as Sheba has shown over the years by treating victims of the Syrian civil war, operating on critically ill children from Kurdistan in Iraq, and tending to the needs of desperately ill youngsters and adults from the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza,” said Prof. Kreiss.Even after Prof. Kreiss returned from Bahrain, he maintained contact with both U.S. government officials and his new associates in the Gulf.
When the pandemic started to severely impact nations in the region, government and healthcare officials from several Arab and Muslim countries reached out to Sheba for help.
In mid-August, when the UAE (United Arab Emirates) and Israel decided to establish full economic and diplomatic relations, several leading investment companies reached out to Prof. Kreiss and other senior members of Sheba.
In September, Sheba signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the UAE’s APEX to develop a joint innovation hub in the region to accelerate healthcare innovation and promote peace and prosperity. The partnership will launch medical collaborations, medical tourism, innovation exchanges, education and training, and expand Sheba’s work across the Gulf.
EXCLUSIVE!
EXCERPTS FROM PROF. KREISS’ SPEECH
“There is nowhere I would rather be at this moment that in Abu Dhabi with you, at this extraordinary signing ceremony. But COVID-19 determined otherwise, as Sheba leads Israel’s response, introducing a total reform of future healthcare.
“We would not be here today without the vision and tenacity of the United States. Thanks to their inclusive ‘Peace to Prosperity’ summit held in Bahrain last year, we were all able to lay the groundwork for the diplomatic infrastructure that paved our way to this day.
“Throughout my professional career, I have carried the unshakable belief that medicine and science transcend boundaries and politics, enabling trust to be built between nations, providing the bridge that ultimately brings us together as equals.
“And here we are, nations once polarized and isolated from one another, standing shoulder to shoulder, creating and endless horizon of hope for our peoples.
“Hope, like medicine, knows no boundaries.
“Being here with you today is proof of that. Getting to know each other, we have already discovered that our peoples have a lot in common, growing up in the same region, and that we are seeking the same things, mainly: looking ahead to creating a better future for our children and working diligently and tirelessly toward that reality. Sheba Medical Center has already demonstrated how quickly and effectively innovation can go global in this hyper-connected age.
“By pursuing life-changing medical innovations together, all our physicians will soon find themselves exchanging cutting-edge data and collaborating to produce innovative, new approaches for treating patients and building healthier societies.
“This agreement we are signing is testament that by sharing and pooling our strengths we have the power to change the course of events – to create our own destiny and to live the lives we hoped for.”This article was written in cooperation with Sheba Medical Center.