​After 28 years, Rambam’s Division of Pediatric Hematology-Oncology has entered its new home in the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital.

With classrooms that look like beach kiosks, spacious rooms, advanced equipment, a patio for fun activities, and a view of the Mediterranean Sea, thousands of children with cancer are being treated under the best possible conditions. That, according to experts, translates into therapeutic success.

To date, Rambam has treated thousands of children with hemato-oncologic cancers, with a particularly high success rate. The only department of its kind in the north of Israel, it has become a byword for excellence in terms of treatment and a source of hope for recovery, for many patients. Recently, 28 years after its establishment, the department moved from its old home in the Meyer Building to its new home in the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital. The dedication ceremony for the Division’s new home was held last week in the presence of many distinguished friends who played a role in this new era for children with cancer.

The ceremony was held on February 26 in the lobby of the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital. Participants included Mr. Eitan Wertheimer on behalf of the couple for whom the division is named—Joan and Sanford (Sandy) Weill; Dr. Vered Drenger, daughter of Mrs. Ruth Rappaport; Professor Eliezer Robinson, chairman of the Israel Cancer Association (ICA), which contributed greatly to the division over the years; Mrs. Miri Ziv, CEO of the ICA; representatives of the Feist-Alsace family who also donated the ambulatory care unit; Knesset Member Meir Shitrit; Gilles Courregelongue, the French consul to Haifa; the head of the Friends of Rambam organization in France; Joelle Abutbul; representatives of the hospital management, and many more. The ceremony itself, dedicated to children, included the participation of many patients who have or are recovering as a result of treatment in the department, along with their families. There was not a dry eye in the house as the audience listened to poetry, enjoyed music, song, and dance.

One quarter of Israel’s pediatric cancer patients are treated at Rambam

The Department of Hematology-Oncology was established in 1986 in a small and crowded room inside the adult Department of Oncology at Rambam. Nine years later, with the help of Israel Cancer Society and MK Meir Shitrit, the department received official quarters in the Meyer Children’s Hospital. In 2002, again with the help of the ICA, the department built a new wing that included a daycare unit, two sterile rooms, a bone marrow transplant clinic, and a “motel” floor for parents of hospitalized children.

In December of 2014, the Department of Hematology-Oncology was relocated to its new home in the Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital. Located on the seventh floor, the department spans 2,500 square meters and includes 17 patient beds, 4 bone marrow transplant beds in isolated rooms, and a daycare unit. The rooms are large, spacious, and equipped with the latest technologies including touch screens, monitors, and iPads for the use of the hospitalized children. The interior design was inspired by a sea theme, envisioned by Mrs. Ruth Rappaport. The theme, and is reflected throughout the department: blue walls painted with sea décor, and seating areas that look more like beach cafes. The atmosphere complements the view of the Haifa Bay Beach, outside the windows.

Over the years, the department has become the country’s leading hematology-oncology department. Each year approximately 110 new children are treated, comprising 25% of Israel’s children hospitalized for hemato-oncologic diseases. The staff cares for children ranging in age from a few days through to adulthood. More than 82% of the children treated in the department recover and go on to live a normal and happy life.

“We have years of experience successfully working with children from the north,” says Professor Miriam Ben-Arush, Director of the Department of Pediatric Hematology, “We watch these children grow up and become healthy and happy. Raising their own families. … this new facility that we are working in today has been designed and built with the understanding that the child and his or her family are the center; a supportive environment helps the child heal. Thanks to our friends in Israel and abroad who have helped and supported us for many years, we were able to make this dream a reality. I have no doubt that the department will help every child entrusted to our care.”

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)