Rambam Hospital: Over 20 Palestinians including eight Gazan Children Being =

Treated at Rambam
www.rambam.org.il

Despite Shooting: Over 20 Palestinians, including eight Gazan Children =

Treated at Rambam
While Hamas attacks from Gaza, with half the State of Israel under threat, =

many Gazans continue to receive medical treatment in Israel.

Rambam Health Care Campus provides medical care to patients from Gaza and =

the Palestinian Authority (PA) year round. Currently, hospitalized patients =

include 3 adults and 8 children from Gaza, and 3 adults and 2 children from =

the PA. In addition, this Haifa hospital has 7 patients from the PA being =

treated in the outpatient clinics. Additional patients from Gaza area =

scheduled for treatments later this week.

Most of the hospitalized children are in the pediatric oncology or =

nephrology wards. Of these, the majority is under the age of three, and the=
y =

are accompanied by relatives. Additional medical problems and the need for =

long-term treatment makes lengthy hospitalizations standard for these =

children.

Medical cooperation between Israel and the PA continues despite the =

shooting. According to Yazid Falah, the coordinator for Palestinian patient=
s =

coming to Rambam, =93Despite the security situation, and despite the fact t=
hat =

both sides are fighting, all continues as usual in the realm of medical =

cooperation,=94 explains Falah, =93even in times of war we continue to rece=
ive =

patients and give them the care they need=97children and adults.=94

While the medical routine is maintained, the current situation cannot be =

avoided and there is a feeling of tension in the air. Falah is in close =

contact with the Palestinians patients. He shares that they feel trapped in =

an impossible situation. "On the one hand they are in Israel and see the =

consequences of the actions of Hamas and how people get hurt on this side o=
f =

the border. On the other hand, their families in Gaza are under attack by =

the IDF and they fear for the lives of their loved ones," says Falah, "ther=
e =

are those who have told me they are ashamed of what Gaza is doing, and =

others say they are afraid of how people will talk and look at them here in =

the hospital. Other have said they are afraid to return to Gaza. Others jus=
t =

don=92t know what to think. Some have made contact with their families and =

learned of property damage and casualties near their homes. Those people =

have a life there and see the kind of life people have here. At the end of =

the day, they simply want to live in peace, but it is clear to them that th=
e =

situation has changed. They believe the situation will only to get worse ".

Despite the complications of reality, the human factor remains a winner. Th=
e =

hospital has become a second home to these patients. Israelis and =

Palestinians literally live together due to the long hospitalizations. =

Parents and children share rooms, activities, treatments, and begin to =

develop solid relationships. They are sick together and heal together.

"When the hostilities escalated, the Palestinian patients feared a cold =

reception," says Falah, "we explained that would never happen in an Israeli =

hospital. Here you see people and not nationalities. Many times, Israeli =

patients reach out to their Palestinian =93neighbors=94 to help them feel m=
ore =

comfortable and to encourage them. Eventually, all are in the same boat.=94

Rambam Health Care Campus treats hundreds of patients each year from the =

Palestinian Authority and Gaza, including 650 children and teenagers in =

2013. These patients come to Rambam for a variety of medical problems, some =

of which are complex and require hospitalization.

________________________________________
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