As usual there were two tracks of lectures, one in Hebrew and one in
English. Each lecturer spoke to both groups and in both languages.

Opening remarks began with Suzanne Patt Benvinisti telling the
audience that in the past week Hadassah hospital had received 15
wounded soldiers for treatment. She then told us about her cousin
whose legs had been very badly injured and in danger of amputation.
Ellen Shemesh of the Levonah chapter in Modi’in and senior vice
President of Hadassah Israel, read Psalm 130, a prayer for well being
in a time of national distress.

Rivkah Cooper, President Hadassah-Israel welcomed the audience for
coming to learn about the latest advancements and research in the
medical field, and expressed her gratitude for the help and support she
is receiving during her first year as President. She thanked the
Hadassah-Israel members and supporters for attending this Mediscope
and hopes that their support will continue.

Barbara Sofer, Director of Public Relations for Hadassah in Israel told
us about the new Gandel Rehabilitation Centre on Mount Scopus and
the important work being done there from its first working day.

Professor Yoram Weiss, Director General of the Hadassah Medical
Organisation in Israel also spoke, and greeted the audience.

The first speaker, Dr Ahmed Naama, head of emergency medicine had
been delayed in his department, but was eventually introduced by
Ellen Davies, also of the Hadassah Levonah Chapter in Modi’in. He was
born at the Hadassah hospital on Mount Scopus and has been working
at Hadassah for 14 years.

He told us that a year ago the only trauma unit in the area was at
Hadassah. It has 63 beds that are almost always occupied, and it is
located in a protected area. He pointed out that the mixed ethnicity of
staff working together in the department reflects the DNA of
Hadassah’s mission.

His department sends a global quality blood to the battlefield for
emergency transfusions before a soldier or victim is sent by helicopter
to the hospital and is rushed through to his department. Whatever the
condition of a new patient may be, he or she is first taken to the
emergency department for initial assessment.

Professor Rivka Dresner Pollak translates scientific research into
applications for treatments and has been working in her laboratory in
the endocrinology department for 15 years. Much of her work concerns
women’s issues, such as menopause and its consequences of bone
loss, obesity and more. She told us that there has been a revolution in
Hormone Replacement Therapy. Much more is known today, and doses
can be adjusted to better suit the individual.

A new Centre for Treatment of Obesity will soon open to help
overcome this problem. It will take into account the many factors that
cause obesity in an effort to reduce it.

Another function of this new centre will help cancer patients suffering
the endocrinological side effects from cancer treatment.

Dr Rachel Goldstein, a clinical pharmacist, spoke about research, or
lack of it, into the efficacy, or not, of supplements. She opened the
minds of those of us who take supplements without checking their
credentials, and explained how we should recognise whether a certain
product has been certified by the FDA, an internationally accepted
standard.

She explained the working of the FDA, but also explained the gap
between certification and a product on a shop counter, for it seems
that during part of the marketing-retail chain there is no control.

Some alternative materials may be potentially dangerous for the
individual, such as taking too high doses, or adverse interactions with
other medications. Other substances, such as melatonin for preventing
insomnia, or honey for healing wounds, are popular remedies that are
proven to be effective.

Dr Tanir Allweiss, is a specialist in breast surgery and Medical Director,
Breast Health Center at Hadassah.

With emphasis on specialist training, community outreach at both Ein
Kerem and Mount Scopus clinics, the Breast Health Centre provides all
tests and services in one unit, which is a one stop shop for screening,
mammogram, ultrasound, and where personalized risk assessment
and high risk treatment take place.

Dr Allweiss mentioned their methods of diagnosing, such as imaging,
biopsies, pathology work. Then the next stage of specialized breast
surgery, plastic procedures, radiation, oncological therapy, and tissue
procurement for research.

A dedicated nurse coordinator, and surgical nurses follow through from
surgery to recovery, and there is a survival stage, and also an
end-of-life care, each with their own aspects of care for the patient.

The doctor gave a list of activities that coordinate to all stages of the
illness, such as physical rehabilitation, psycho social support groups,
lifestyle changes.

There is also the additional comprehensive research programme that
studies issues such as genetics, biology and immunology, and digital
health and AI (Artificial intelligence)

Much more is included in their programmes for personal centred
medicare, the matters of patients’ children needing care, sense of
loneliness being suffered by the patient, fertility, challenges of
everyday life. The haredi community has other elements which include
faith and religion which can be sources of strength, gender roles in the
family, body and modesty .

For Arabic speaking patients there are Arabic speaking nurses and
therapists

Dr Myriam Grunewald introduced us all to, I think, a new technology
previously not known to most of us. She is the director of the
Hadassah ORGANOID Centre, whose mission it is to advance medical
care for a patient that will help him or her to be restored back to a
normal life. The organoid replaces a diseased part of the body.

Depending on the requirement, her laboratory can develop partial
organoid cultures from a patient’s biopsy test, develop, then re-insert
them into the patient in the hope that it leads to recovery.

She described how her laboratory takes a biopsy from the patient,
processes the material with an enzyme, and waits for its seed cells to
grow and expand. There has been a technological breakthrough and it
is now possible to create organoids of most parts of the body.

Hadassah has the first Biobank in Israel and it is located in Dr
Gruenwald’s department. Hadassah collaborates with laboratories in
other institutions such as the Weizmann Institute.

Impressively, there is a long list of applications of organoids within the
medical profession that are helping to save lives and it comes under
the heading of Regenerative Medicine.

Article and Pictures by Marion Stone of the Mor & Levonah Chapters in
Modi'in.