Sheba Medical Center is preparing for a sweeping transformation that would nearly double its number of hospital beds, add two rooftop helipads and turn the sprawling campus into an open medical district connected to parks and public transportation.
The National Infrastructure Planning Committee has advanced the plan for public review, moving forward one of Israel’s largest proposed healthcare infrastructure projects. Under the blueprint, Sheba’s capacity would rise from approximately 1,860 beds to 3,303 by 2045, significantly expanding hospitalization, research, teaching and medical services.
The project includes a major redesign of the campus, with new parks, public spaces, landscaping, solar panels and pedestrian routes linking hospital buildings with surrounding neighborhoods. The hospital’s perimeter barriers would be removed, allowing pedestrians to move more freely between Sheba and nearby areas of Ramat Gan.
Transportation is a central part of the proposal. The future M3 Metro station is expected to be built within the hospital campus, alongside access to the Purple Line light rail station to the west. A roughly 600-meter pedestrian route would connect the two systems, giving patients, employees and visitors direct access to mass transit.
The plan also calls for two new rooftop helipads to replace the current ground-level landing site. The new facilities are intended to improve Sheba’s ability to receive patients during emergencies, mass-casualty incidents, military operations and other urgent situations. The existing helipad area would be converted into new hospital buildings.
Officials say the expansion is designed to meet Israel’s healthcare needs through 2045 amid continued population growth and rising demand across the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. The project would also expand research and training facilities, including additional space for collaboration between physicians, researchers, universities, startups and international partners.
Sheba officials described the vision as a “health city of the future,” combining clinical care, medical research, teaching, transportation and public space within a single district. Deputy Director General Yehuda Katz said the project would make the hospital “an integral, living and breathing part of the entire region.”
Ramat Gan Mayor Carmel Shama-Hacohen called the proposal both a medical and urban development project of enormous importance, saying it would strengthen Sheba’s global standing while improving public transportation, open spaces and the surrounding environment.
The proposal will now be opened for public comments and objections before returning for further review and approval. The transformation is expected to unfold gradually through 2045.
(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)
