The Campus
entire spectrum of patient care
Rambam Health Care Campus is an 1,100-bed academic hospital serving the over 2.5 million residents of Northern Israel. Providing comprehensive medical services in all medical specialties, Rambam is the tertiary referral center for 12 district hospitals. Their commitment is to the entire spectrum of patient care, ranging from the best treatments and therapies, to the support of clinical research.
Rambam Health Care Campus was recently ranked as one of the most recommended hospitals in Israel. In addition to the citizens of Northern Israel, Rambam serves the Israel Defense Forces Northern Command, UN Peacekeeping Forces, and the US 6th Fleet. Many of Rambam’s physicians are world renowned in their clinical specialty. Physicians participate in cutting-edge research projects to bring new therapies and treatments not only to their patients, but the greater community of the world.
Vision and values
To be the leading medical center in – medical quality, patient experience, health promotion, research, education and in pioneering innovations changing the future of medicine.
Rambam Health Care Campus will constitute a beacon of high-quality patient care to the entire State of Israel and especially to the North, and will promote the development of a multicultural pluralistic environment placing the human in the center.
Professionalism
Activities of the medical center staff will be performed according to the highest standards of excellence, quality, safety, integrity, responsibility, and service.
Transparency
The medical center will function with full transparency aimed at building the full trust of patients and colleagues.
Advancement
The medical center will be a leader in scientific and technologic breakthrough innovations.
Patient-centered
At the center of each activity, the staff will represent the voice, values, beliefs, and desires of the patient with respect, attentiveness, and empathy.
Teamwork
Multidisciplinary teamwork will be based on partnership, mutual respect, tolerance and acceptance of the other will form the basis of the medical center’s activities.
Education and Training
The medical center is committed to education and learning to nurture the future generation.
Rambam Vision 2065
At Rambam, medicine, technology,and humanity intertwine for the benefit of humankind. The celebration of their past accomplishments is the foundation for their future – including a new vision that will take them to the end of the 21st century. Following recent government approval, they have unveiled a preliminary master plan with major milestones set for 2048 – Israel’s 100th birthday – and 2065. They will become a 2,700-bed hospital with nine and a half million square feet of space from the close to two million square feet of space today.
The rambam history timeline
Haifa Government Hospital Established in “Technikum” Courtyard
When Haifa was conquered by the British in 1918, Allenby's army settled in the Technikum courtyard (the Technion) and placed a tent camp that served as a hospital. In a number of classrooms at the nearby Reali School, an intensive care unit was established. This was the beginning of the British medical service in Haifa. Over a period of 20 years, this service moved to other places in the city until it reached its present location in the Bat Galim neighborhood.
First Hospital Director, Dr. John Herbert Thompson
The newly inaugurated hospital was the only one built by the authorities of the British Mandate. Dr. John Herbert Thompson was appointed its first director and his wife, Barbara, was the head nurse. Thompson served until the establishment of the State of Israel. Under his leadership, good relationships were maintained between the Jewish and Arab staff members, even during the events preceding the War of Independence. Thompson visited Rambam in 1982, accompanied by his son David, a “Sabra” who was born in the hospital.
Second Hospital Director, Dr. Raphael Gjebin
Born in Tbilisi, Dr. Raphael Gjebin completed his medical studies in Berlin and immigrated to Israel in 1935. He went on to serve in the British Medical Corps and was director of the military hospital in Kantara. Discharged from the army in 1946 with the rank of colonel, he was appointed to be director of the Government Hospital in 1948, and served until 1963. Gjebin changed the hospitalization conditions, adapting them to scientific and technological progress. He also required the use of Hebrew throughout the hospital and established Hebrew lessons for new immigrant doctors. Gjebin also served as Chairman of the Organization of State Employed Physicians of Israel, Chairman of the Israel Medical Association, and Director General of the Ministry of Health (1963–1971).
The Hospital’s First Head Nurse, Elsa Yellin
Known as a "legendary nurse" she became Rambam’s first head nurse following the establishment of the State of Israel. The founder of the Nursing School, Yellin managed nursing according to the British standards and demanded the highest of quality and excellence. Nursing and the nursing school were the center of her life, and she served as an inspirational example to all her students.
School of Nursing Established, Headed by Elsa Yellin
With the departure of the British Mandate, most of the government hospital’s employees left, leaving only a few Jewish nurses. Elsa Yellin, a recognized nurse in Haifa, was recruited to prepare the now empty hospital for receiving patients and to open a nursing school in order to overcome the severe shortage of nurses. On September 1, 1948, the nursing school opened under the direction of Elsa Yellin who also served as the hospital’s head nurse until her death in 1958
Establishment of Israel & War of Independence
With the end of the British Mandate, the Government Hospital was transferred to the City of Haifa. After several months, it was transferred to the authority of the new Israeli government. During the course of the war, the hospital treated hundreds of soldiers and civilians wounded in the northern region. Following an attack on Kibbutz Gesher (in the Jordan Valley) it was decided to evacuate all the mothers and children to the Carmelite convent next to the hospital, where they lived for more than a year.
Government Hospital Becomes Rambam
In 1952, inspired by Rabbi Moses Ben Maimon (Maimonides), one of the greatest Jewish sages of the Middle Ages, and a philosopher, scientist, astronomer and exemplary doctor—the Haifa Government Hospital was renamed Rambam Hospital. The number of beds increased to 550, new departments and services were added, and the hospital soon became the largest medical center in Northern Israel.
The Hospital’s Second Head Nurse, Rosa Haran
Faced the daunting task of transforming the traditional British/European approach to nursing into that of the modern nursing of today, Haran (1958 - 1980) continued in the vision of Elsa Yellin, ensuring the professionalism of nursing while maintaining a spirit of compassion.
New Outpatient Clinics Building Opens
Haifa’s population growth and the development of additional medical specialties necessitated the expansion of the hospital and construction of new facilities. The first building to be added to the hospital after 1938 was a new Outpatient Clinics building. Today most of the adult ambulatory activities are held there, with close to 600,000 patient visits annually.
Third Hospital Director, Dr. Moshe Lazar
Born in Poland, Dr. Moshe Lazar graduated from the University of Krakow. During the Second World War, he served in the Russian Army. At the war’s end, he became director of displaced persons camps in Belgium on behalf of the Mossad L’Aliya Bet. In 1947 Lazar came to Israel—an illegal immigrant—and began to serve as the medical director of the immigrant camps in Sha’ar Ha’aliya and Atlit. In 1951, he was appointed by Dr. Gjebin as the Deputy Manager of Rambam; he became its director in 1963. Under Lazar’s leadership, there was great momentum in the hospital’s development. Several critical departments opened, and Rambam became the only tertiary (referral) hospital in the north.
First Deceased Donor Kidney Transplant in Israel
Professor David Ehrlich was one of the founding fathers of Israeli surgery and performed the first kidney transplantation from a deceased donor in Israel—at Rambam.
New Semilunar Model for Cardiac Intensive Care—First in the World at Rambam
The concept of having the nursing station central to the patient beds in an arc, providing immediate access to patients in need was developed by Professor Egon Riss, the Director of Rambam’s Cardiac Intensive Care Unit. The World Health Organization (WHO) was impressed by this concept and to this day uphold it as an international standard.
First Regional Installation of Hyperbaric Oxygen Chamber
At the end of the Six-Day War, Professor Erika Munis, of Rambam’s Department of Anesthesiology, was sent to England to study hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Upon her return to Israel, she met with New Yorker, David Rose, who made a significant contribution by purchasing the hyperbaric pressure chamber in Northern Israel, installed at Rambam Hospital.
Origins of the Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine
In 1964, Rambam Medical Center became affiliated with the Hebrew University’s Faculty of Medicine in Jerusalem. This enabled medical students from Jerusalem to perform their fifth and sixth year practical work in Haifa. Four years later, at the initiative of Professor David Ehrlich, and supported by Dr. David Barzilai, Dr. Ori Better, Professor David Gutmann, and then hospital director Dr. Moshe Lazar, it was also decided to allow fourth year students to pursue their studies in Haifa—at Rambam.Not satisfied with Rambam being only an affiliated branch of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Professor Ehrlich committed himself to seeing a medical school established in Haifa. To that end, Professor Ehrlich worked closely with Haifa’s mayor, Aba Khoushy, his successor, Moshe Fliman, and Doctor Carol Shine, Director of Rothschild Hospital (today, Bnai Zion). In August 1969, the Israeli government approved establishment of the Faculty of Medicine in Haifa near Rambam Hospital. The first two classes studied in the Carmelite monastery (Historic Stone Building) at Rambam Hospital, where the administration of the new faculty was based.In January 1971, which marked the end of Rambam’s contract with the Hebrew University, the Senate of the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology approved a merger of the Faculty of Medicine in Haifa with the Technion, with Professor Ehrlich being appointed its first dean. The Haifa Municipality leased the St. Joseph Monastery adjacent to Rambam and began renovations to prepare it for students; it served as the Faculty in its first years.
Yom Kippur War Forces Early Occupancy of New Hospitalization Building
A new hospitalization building was designed by architect Arie Sharon in 1966. Seven years later, it was still under construction when the Yom Kippur war broke out. A state of medical emergency forced the early occupancy of the building in order to treat wounded soldiers and civilians from the northern border. In October 1974, the building was completed. In 2007, a generous donation led to the renaming of the building to the Sammy Ofer Tower.
Fourth Hospital Director, Professor Reuven Eldar
Born in Yugoslavia and a medical graduate at the Hebrew University, Professor Reuven Eldar served as a brigade doctor (Armored Corp), commanding medical officer Northern Command, deputy surgeon general and surgeon general of the Medical Corps. Appointed director of Rambam in 1975, he led major policy changes that focused on the community and community medicine, with a special emphasis on preventive medicine and health education. The period of Eldar’s leadership was characterized by economic difficulties in Israel and infrastructure development ceased. However, this time also marked the beginning of collaborations with hi-tech industries. One such collaboration, headed by Elscint, began, which enabled the hospital to have its own CT system and gamma camera. In 1979 Professor Eldar completed his term of directorship and joined the UN on a mission to the Phillippines.
Rambam’s First Computed Tomography System Installed
Advanced Radioisotope Imaging Comes to Rambam
Professor Dov Front introduced a unique gamma camera produced by Elscint, Haifa, Israel. Rambam was the first site in Northern Israel to use this history-making device.
Fifth Hospital Director, Professor Leon Epstein
Born in South Africa, Professor Leon Epstein was appointed Deputy Director to Professor Eldar in 1975, and was subsequently appointed as the acting hospital director. Together with Professor Eldar, Professor Epstein further developed the fields of community medicine, preventive medicine, and occupational medicine at Rambam. At his initiative, the Department of Social Medicine was opened in the Faculty of Medicine, the hospital's social services expanded, and a methodology was initiated for patient follow-up in the community. After completing his tenure, he served as the director of the Department of Social Medicine at Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem and founded the School of Public Health.
The Hospital’s Third Head Nurse, Mazal Lubezki
During her brief tenure, Lubezki (1980 - 1983) initiated changes in the nursing department’s structure, from a “brigade” style of work to organized teamwork. Unfortunately, she but did not manage to make the necessary changes.
First Otolaryngological Laser Surgery in Israel
Professor Zvi Joachims performed the first otolaryngological surgery in Israel using a laser device, together with Professor Isaac Eliachar.
Sixth Hospital Director, Professor Joseph Brandes
Born in Israel, Professor Joseph Brandes (1981 - 1986) graduated from the Reali School in Haifa, fought in the Palmach, and was wounded in the War of Independence. After the war, he completed his medical studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and studied obstetrics and gynecology at Rambam, where he served as Director of the Maternity A ward. During his tenure as Rambam’s director, the hospital received hundreds of patients wounded in the 1982 Peace for Galilee War and hostilities on the northern border’s security zone. Rambam essentially became the trauma center for the entire northern region. Brandes established the Rambam Research Foundation, known today as the Rambam Health Corporation. Donor-sponsored development continued with the 1984 opening of what would later be known as the Meyer Children’s Hospital. Brandes also encouraged use of digital technology in the hospital. He was a member of the Scientific Council of the Israel Medical Association.
Establishment of the Medical Research Fund (Rambam Health Corporation)
The medical research fund, now known as the Rambam Health Corporation, was established to serve a critical role in the provision of faster and higher quality medical services, as well as to fund medical research. The corporation has also facilitated the employment of approximately 1,500 of Rambam’s medical and administrative staff.
Rambam is the Primary Hospital During the First Lebanon War
The Hospital’s Fourth Head Nurse, Miriam Hasharoni
Under her (1983 - 1997) leadership, nursing at Rambam was transformed from a separate sector into comprehensive modern nursing in which nurses participated in and were integral to medical practice. Hasharoni made revolutionary changes to the nursing administration structure and activities, and raised the status of nurses and their work.
New Protocol Developed for Treating Crush Syndrome
Professor Ori Better established the first Department of Nephrology at Rambam. His efforts led to development of a protocol for treating a syndrome that often accompanies people who survive being trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings. Today Crush Syndrome is an important part of all medical emergency studies, and Better’s protocol has been adopted worldwide.
First In Vitro Fertilization in the Region in Rambam’s Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology
The Seventh Hospital Director, Professor Moshe Revach
Born in Bulgaria, Professor Moshe Revach (1986 - 2005) received his M.D. from the Hebrew University in the framework of the Academic Reserve. Prior to serving as Rambam’s director, he served as a battalion, brigade, and commanding medical officer of the Southern Command and was appointed deputy surgeon general and surgeon general of the Israeli Medical Corps (1983-1987). Under his leadership, Rambam underwent great changes—new departments, institutes, and operating theaters were opened, and the hospital entered an accelerated program for equipment acquisition and computerization. Revach was a pioneer in the field of trauma in Israel, headed the National Trauma Council, and led the establishment of Rambam’s International Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency, and Mass Casualty Situations. He was also one of the leaders of the Israeli health system and head of many national committees. Revach also headed the steering committee for the “Vision of Adam” (Vision for Humanity), which became the basis for the future development of Rambam’s west campus. He was recognized as an Outstanding Citizen of Haifa in 2005, and received the 2010 Rambam Award. Since 2010 he has served as Chairman of the Board of the Maccabi Health Care HMO.
Pediatric Care Gets a New Home
In 1947, Rambam’s Pediatrics Division was established. Over the years, it outgrew the two pavilions in which it was housed. In 1986, thanks to the estate of Menashe Meyer, Rambam opened a new pediatrics building called The Children’s House. Following an expansion in 2002, it was renamed the Meyer Children’s Hospital.
First Stent Catheterization in the Department of Cardiology
First Trauma Treatment Center in Israel Opens at Rambam
Rambam has treated wounded soldiers from all of Israel’s wars. As a result, Rambam has acquired extensive experience relating to trauma treatment, trauma management, and trauma systems—all of which have led to Rambam’s worldwide renown in the field. In 1994, under the leadership of Professor Moshe Revach, Dr. Moshe Michalson, and Ms. Gila Hyams, the first trauma treatment center in Northern Israel opened at Rambam. Today Rambam treats more trauma patients than any other hospital in Israel, with the best outcomes in the country.
Rambam Works with Biosense to Develop Cardiac Mapping System
Rambam investigators were major contributors to the CARTO® 3D Electroanatomical Mapping System, marketed by the Israeli company Biosense. Today, the CARTO System is the state-of-the-art treatment for complex cardiac arrhythmias, treating hundreds of thousands of patients worldwide, and Biosense is now a member of the Johnson & Johnson family of companies
The Hospital’s Fifth Head Nurse, Prof. Hanna Admi
The quality of care and the patient-nurse relationship markedly improved under Admi’s (1997 - 2015) leadership. She expanded nurses' authority, developed a nursing clinical ladder, established new roles such as nursing coordinators and nursing specialists, pushed for the academicization of the profession, developed nursing research, and became the first nursing director in Israel with a Ph.D.
Roots of the Jewish People
The TV series, “Star Trek,” inspired a Rambam and Technion team, led by Professor Karl Skorecki, to identify the DNA marker signature of the Jewish Priesthood (Kohanim). Their work, published in Nature in 1997, opened the new discipline of Genetic Genealogy, which over the ensuing 20 years has retraced the 3,000 year demographic history of the Jewish people worldwide.
Discovery of Human Embryonic Stem Cells
In November 1998, Science published the first article in the world on the isolation of human embryonic stem cells—a joint study of Professor Joseph Itskovitz-Eldor from Rambam and the Technion and Professor James Thompson from the University of Wisconsin, USA.
First Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency, and Mass Casualty Situations (MCS) in the World Opens
Under the leadership of Dr. Zvi Ben Ishai, Dr. Moshe Michaelson, and Mrs. Gila Hyams, The Teaching Center for Trauma, Emergency and MCS was established in 1999 in cooperation with the Ministries of Health and Foreign Affairs, with the goal of sharing Rambam’s accumulated knowledge with other health care professionals worldwide. This was the first such center to be established in the world. Since then, we are proud of the more than 3,000 medical professionals from 62 countries who have trained at Rambam.
Rambam Leads the Hospital Computer Revolution in Israel
In 2000, Rambam’s Division of Information and Computing developed a sophisticated technological system, called Prometheus. The system provided a dramatic change in the digital management of all patient data; it was subsequently implemented in 13 additional Israeli hospitals. Since then, Rambam has developed two additional emergency systems for use throughout the country: The “Adam” system locates and coordinates wounded people in all of Israel’s hospitals during emergency situations, while the “Emergency” system is used for managing hospital headquarters during mass events or wartime. As of 2017, Rambam is leading the revolution in medical research through the adoption of BIG DATA technologies, in collaboration with MDClone.
The Vision of Adam (Humanity)
In 2000, under the leadership of Professor Moshe Revach, Ariela and Eitan Wertheimer took upon themselves the task of developing Rambam Health Care Campus. A long-term development plan was laid that envisions making a local and global impact on the advancement of medical care and research across the disciplines. The vision implementation committee was comprised of Professor Karl Skorecki, Doctor Zvi Ben Ishai and Esty Golan, together with then dean of the Technion’s Faculty of Medicine—Professor Rafi Beyar, who was also Director of Rambam’s Interventional Cardiology Unit. Together, they raised the hospital’s status in Israel and abroad, and served as a bridge between nations, cultures, and religions. Since then, the medical center has been called Rambam Health Care Campus.
Collaborative Work to Develop the PillCam™
Rambam’s gastroenterology team, led by Professor Rami Elyakim worked with Given Imaging to develop the PillCam for diagnosing gastrointestinal diseases.
GE Healthcare’s New PET-CT Imaging System Developed at Rambam
GE Healthcare inaugurated their new PET-CT Imaging System, which was developed at Rambam, in three nations at the same time—Switzerland, the USA, and Israel (Rambam). Professor Ora Israel, Rambam’s Director of the Department of Nuclear Medicine and GE Health Care consultant, contributed to the system’s development.
World’s First Beating Heart Cells from Embryonic Stem Cells
Professor Lior Gepstein’s research team at Rambam and the Technion was the first in the world to create, characterize, and modify heart cells from embryonic, and subsequently from induced pluripotent, stem cells. In the future, they may be used to create a biological pacemaker and to regenerate damaged heart tissue.
Rambam Opens 12 New Fortified Surgical Suites.
Twelve new fully fortified surgical suites were opened at Rambam, thanks to the help of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
Hospital Under Fire—The Second Lebanon War
For the first time in its history, during the Second Lebanon War in July 2006, Rambam was under direct threat from more than 60 rockets landing near the hospital. Despite this life-threatening situation, hospital staff treated hundreds of wounded soldiers and civilians. Within 48 hours the hospital had transferred hundreds of patients to safer improvised treatment areas in its basements. The war revealed the numerous challenges a hospital faces in time of war: treating the wounded while under fire and ensuring safety of patients and staff. The need for a shielded emergency department and a fortified underground hospital was clear. The new fortified Department of Emergency Medicine was inaugurated in 2009.
Eighth Hospital Director, Professor Rafi Beyar
Born in Israel, Professor Rafi Beyar is a graduate of Sackler Medical School of Tel Aviv University and holds a D.Sc. in Biomedical Engineering from the Technion. He specialized in internal medicine at Rambam and completed his residency in cardiology at Johns Hopkins University. In 1995, he became a full professor in the Technion’s Faculty of Biomedical Engineering and a year later, he was appointed Director of the Invasive Cardiology Unit at Rambam. In 2000, Professor Beyar became Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, and served in that capacity until his appointment as Director General of Rambam Health Care Campus from 2006–2019. At the beginning of his term, Professor Beyar successfully led the hospital staff through the 2006 Second Lebanon War, during which the hospital was under fire. Wartime experience led to implementation of the "Vision of Adam (Humanity)" and development of the hospitals new west campus. He spearheaded the founding of Rambam MedTech, the hospital’s technology transfer company, which led the hospital towards an innovative, first of a kind, joint effort with Medtronic, IBM, and Pitango-Impact First, to establish the MindUp Incubator on Digital Health in early 2016 in Haifa. Professor Beyar has also served as chairperson of the National Healthcare Basket for Pharmaceuticals Committee and head of the National Center for Transplantation. Professor Beyar continues to practice interventional cardiology at Rambam and is currently the president of the International Friends Associations of Rambam Health Care Campus.
Implementing the Vision
Based on the “Vision of Adam,” a master plan was laid for Rambam’s new west campus, to provide a suitable long-term infrastructure to meet the highest standards of medicine. In 2006, with the appointment of Professor Rafi Beyar as Director of Rambam HCC, and at the end of the Second Lebanon War, the plan was updated to include an underground parking lot that would convert into a fully fortified regional hospital in times of war. Above ground there would be a children's hospital, an oncology center, a cardiac hospital, and a biomedical discovery tower. The hospital management worked energetically to implement this comprehensive program with the generous assistance of friends of Rambam, both near and far.
Forging Ahead with Research to Create the Leaders of Medicine
Rambam Health Care Campus has always realized the critical importance of clinical research. In 2007, the Leaders (Atidim) and Horizons (Ofakim) Research Programs were initiated to provide time and/or resources to facilitate innovative research of Rambam residents and physicians. Since then, Rambam has established several additional programs to promote high quality competitive research programs for both physicians and nurses, as well as the Spark Program, to enable Rambam-based innovations to achieve early technical milestones leading to follow-on investments.
Establishment of the Clinical Research Institute at Rambam (CRIR)
Rambam HCC has always placed great importance on the intertwining of clinical research with patient care. Founded in 2008, the Clinical Research Institute at Rambam attracts distinguished physician-scientists with proven excellence, scientific publications, and prestigious grants, who focus on advanced clinical research in targeted fields of high medical relevance. Among other discoveries, their research has led to the identification of numerous disease-causing genetic mutations, providing a new tool to diagnose, prevent, and treat lethal disease.
Fortified Emergency Department Opens
The Fortified Emergency Department at Rambam was Israel’s first emergency medical facility fortified against both conventional and unconventional warfare.
The First Annual Rambam Summit and Rambam Award
The Rambam Summit celebrates the intertwining of medicine, technology, and humanity and focusses on specific Rambam achievements that have influenced the world of medicine. The Rambam Award, the hospital’s highest honor, recognizes individuals whose extraordinary vision and contributions to humankind have improved the quality of life in Israel and around the world.
Launch of Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal
Rambam Maimonides Medical Journal, a quarterly, online only, peer reviewed, Open Access, and PubMed indexed, general medicine publication—the only such publication sponsored by a hospital in Israel, and one of the few in the world. The Journal represents a new model in dissemination of scientific and medical articles: donor supported with no advertising, no subscription, no submission, and no publication fees
Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System Installed
Robotic surgery was introduced at Rambam in 2011 thanks to numerous donations that enabled purchase of the Da Vinci Surgical System. First implemented for urological surgery, its use has expanded to other fields. Patients benefit from a shorter procedure and faster recovery.
Rambam MedTech Ltd. Established
Rambam MedTech Ltd. is the technology transfer company of Rambam HCC, linking innovative ideas with industry and potential investors, to bring medical discovery to the global market.
MRI-Guided Focused Ultrasound for Treatment of Essential and Parkinson’s Tremor—First in Israel
Guided by MRI data, high-intensity ultrasound waves are used to precisely target the diseased area of the brain without affecting any of the surrounding tissue. This treatment involves a multidisciplinary team of imaging, neurology, and neurosurgery experts. Since its implementation, Rambam has treated dozens of patients with excellent results.
The Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital Opens
Lessons learned from the Second Lebanon war led to a joint decision of the hospital administration and the Ministries of Health, Finance and Defense, to construct a regional underground hospital fortified against chemical, biological, and conventional warfare. In peacetime, it serves as a parking lot; in times of emergency it converts within 72 hours to a 2,000-bed fully equipped hospital, including surgical suites, intensive care units, and dialysis stations. Thanks to support of the Israeli government and the generosity of Sammy Ofer, the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital was inaugurated in 2014.
The Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital Opens
During the Second Lebanon War, Ruth and Bruce Rappaport made a significant donation to establish a new children's hospital for Northern Israel at Rambam. Designed by Sharon Architects, the new hospital is three times larger than the previous one, which was located in the Meyer Menashe building, built in 1985. Offering medical care and complex medical treatments in all pediatric fields, it provides a pleasant, warm, supportive, and therapeutic environment, with playrooms, a cinema, a science museum, and spacious classrooms.
Biobank Inaugurated
Rambam’s BioBank is part of the Israeli biorepository network. The BioBank collects and stores samples according to international harmonization standards, and matches samples with clinical and epidemiological information to provide researchers with a complete picture of biomarkers and disease outcomes. Its services are available to Rambam and Israeli researchers and their international collaborators.
The Hospital’s Sixth Head Nurse, Gila Hyams
Hyams helped advance the hospital’s JCI accreditation process with honors. She is leading nursing with a vision, focusing on placing both patients and caregivers up front, and is collaborating in a rogram to upgrade work processes with measurable results
Rambam Knowledge Center Established
The Rambam Knowledge Center makes over seven decades of accumulated expertise available to physicians, paramedical professionals, and administrators from Israel and abroad. It includes the Dr. Yaron Bar-El Surgical Skills Center, where interns and physicians learn and practice surgical techniques in advanced simulation facilities.
MindUp Incubator Established
In 2015 Rambam, together with IBM, Medtronic, and Pitango Venture Capital, won the Ministry of Economics Chief Scientist tender to establish a digital health incubator at the Haifa Life Sciences Park. Digital health heralds a revolution in how people receive medical services. The incubator partners are leaders in their respective fields. Together they aim to cultivate over 40 new companies over the next decade, having a rippling impact on the future of digital medicine locally, nationally, and worldwide.
The Joseph Fishman Oncology Center Opens
In 2007, following a lengthy treatment in Rambam’s oncology ward, Joseph Fishman, a Holocaust survivor and resident of Canada for 40 years, decided to establish a center for cancer patients at the hospital. In July 2016, the Joseph Fishman Oncology Center, designed by Moshle Degan Architects, began receiving patients. Rambam’s Oncology Institute treats thousands of patients annually, with excelling experts, utilizing traditional and complementary medicine and innovative technologies to battle cancer—all in a new, spacious, and healing environment.
Rambam Receives JCI Accreditation with Honors
Accreditation by the US-based Joint Commission International (JCI), the recognized independent leader in international health care accreditation, attests Rambam’s compliance with the most stringent standards for hospitals in the western world.
Ninth Hospital Director, Professor Michael (Miki) Halberthal
Born in Israel, Professor Michael (Miki) Halberthal earned his medical degree from the Technion’s Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine and an MHA from Tel Aviv University’s Recanati School of Business Administration. He specialized in Pediatrics and Pediatric Critical Care at Rambam, with a subspecialty fellowship in Pediatric Cardiac Clinical Care from the world-renowned Brompton & Harefield Institute in London, U.K. Since 2001, Professor Halberthal has held various leadership positions at Rambam, joining the executive leadership in 2009, and was appointed as the hospital’s director general in 2019. In that role he led Northern Israel’s only tertiary health care and Level 1 Trauma center through the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and oversaw opening of the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital in 2020 to care for the overflow of COVID-19 patients — a significant team and organizational effort at every level. A Clinical Associate Professor in the Technion’s Ruth & Bruce Rappaport Faculty of Medicine, he is active in research and has published scholarly articles in the areas of hospital management, pediatric critical care, trauma and mass casualty preparedness, and airborne medicine. Professor Halberthal has chaired and been an active member of a number of important national healthcare associations, forums, and committees. He served for over 30 years in the Israel Defense Forces Airborne Rescue and Evacuation Unit, coordinating international civilian air rescue and transport of emergency care patient.
The COVID-19 Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak presented us with many challenges that required great mental and physical effort. The first COVID-19 patients were admitted to Rambam on March 6, 2020; they were hospitalized in a negative pressure room in the Department of Internal Medicine D. Three dedicated “COVID” departments would be opened in the old Meyer building. As morbidity increased, we prepared to receive hundreds of COVID patients on the lower floor (-3) of the Sammy Ofer Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital. Conversion to a dedicated COVID facility, which would have four departments and one emergency room, was highly complex and involved hundreds of staff from every sector. In a precise operation on September 24, the hospital’s COVID-19 patients were transferred to the underground departments, which remained open for 174 days. Israel’s successful vaccination campaign led to reduced morbidity, allowing for closure of the underground facility and a return to above-ground facilities in the hospital.
Opening of the Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital
In the summer of 2022, Rambam officially dedicated the new Eyal Ofer Heart Hospital. This marked the fulfillment of Rambam's vision to build a world class cardiovascular care hospital to serve all the people of Northern Israel. The new Heart Hospital combines all components of cardiac care in a single, state-of-the-art facility which advances both comprehensive heart care and cardiovascular research.
Completion of Helmsley Health Discovery Tower Exterior Casing
In 2022, Rambam completed construction of the foundation, framework and exterior casing of the 20 story Helmsley Health Discovery Tower, an exciting biomedical research hub. When completed, the Tower will be shared by Rambam, the Technion, the University of Haifa, and leading bio-medical enterprises. The goal of the Tower is to jumpstart applied medical research in Israel and to support strategic partnerships with the medical devices, pharmaceuticals and information industries.
Preparing for the Future
Rambam is preparing for future challenges which will confront not only our hospital, but the entire Israeli health care system. We anticipate that population growth of 2% per year, together with an increase in life expectancy, will lead to rapidly growing demand for health care services. Rambam is developing an ambitious, long-term masterplan which will allow us to address these issues in a comprehensive and preemptive manner. Among other steps, we plan to dramatically increase the number of inpatient beds from 1,000 currently, to 1,800 beds in 2045 and 2,600 beds in 2065. We also aim to expand the built-up area of the Rambam campus from 180,000 square meters (1,937,503 square feet) to 900,000 square meters (9,687,519 square feet), by adding nine new high-rise towers.
The Future is Here – a New Vision of Tomorrow
Our past accomplishments are the cornerstone of our future – including a new vision taking us to the end of the 21st century. Following recent government approval, we have unveiled an initial master plan with major milestones set for 2048 – Israel’s 100th birthday – and 2065. Rambam will be a 2,700-bed hospital with nine and a half million square feet of space instead of today's two million square feet.
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surgical procedures annually
0
visits in outpatient clinics annually
0
Rambam departments & clinics
Surgery
Division of Internal Medicine
Gynecology
Children
Medical Imaging
Mental Health
Laboratories
Dentistry
Other Areas
- Anesthesiology
- Division of Surgery
- Cardiac Surgery
- Ear, Nose & Throat, Head & Neck Surgery
- General Surgery Section
- Hand Surgery Unit
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Orthopedics
- Plastic Surgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Urology
- Vascular Surgery
Surgery
- Anesthesiology
- Division of Surgery
- Cardiac Surgery
- Ear, Nose & Throat, Head & Neck Surgery
- General Surgery Section
- Hand Surgery Unit
- Neurosurgery
- Ophthalmology
- Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
- Orthopedics
- Plastic Surgery
- Thoracic Surgery
- Urology
- Vascular Surgery
Division of Internal Medicine
- Cardiology
- Clinical Epidemiology
- Critical Care Medicine
- Dermatology
- Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism
- Gastroenterology
- Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation Institute
- Immunology, Allergies and AIDS
- Internal Medicine Consultation
- Internal Medicine A
- Internal Medicine B
- Internal Medicine C
- Internal Medicine D
- Internal Medicine E
- Internal Medicine H
- Liver
- Nephrology
- Neurology
- Oncology
- Pain Medicine Institute
- Pulmonology
- Rheumatology
Gynecology
- Division of Obstetrics & Gynecology
- Gynecology
Children
- Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- Pediatric Cardiology
- Pediatric Endocrinology
- Pediatric Emergency Unit
- Pediatric Gastroenterology, Liver, and Nutrition Institute
- Pediatric Hematology & Oncology
- Pediatric Metabolism
- Pediatric Nephrology Institute
- Pediatric Neurology
- Pediatric Neurosurgery
- Pediatric Orthopedics
- Pediatric Physiotherapy
- Pediatric Pulmonary
- Pediatric Rheumatology
- Pediatric Surgery
- Pediatric Urology
- Pediatrics A
- Pediatrics B
- Ruth Rappaport Children's Hospital
Medical Imaging
- Medical Imaging
- The School of Radiology & Imaging
- Nuclear Medicine
Mental Health
- Psychiatry & Mental Health
Laboratories
- Clinical Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Israel Poison Information Center
- Toxicology, Pharmacology and Pharmacogenetics
Dentistry
- Orthodontic and Craniofacial Anomalies
- Endodontics and Dental Trauma
- School of Graduate Dentistry
- Periodontology and Implant Dentistry
- Maxillofacial Rehabilitation
Other Areas
- Breast Health
- Clinical Nutrition
- Division of Ambulatory Medicine
- Emergency & Urgent Care Medicine
- Genetic Institute
- Occupational Health
- Occupational Therapy
- Periodic Examinations
- Physical Therapy
- Social Work
- Trauma
Support Us With A Donation
Your donations help Rambam Health Care Campus provide lifesaving treatment, cutting-edge research, and compassionate care for patients from all backgrounds.
Each gift supports vital medical equipment, emergency services, and innovative programs that save lives daily.
Together, we bring hope, healing, and a healthier future to the residents of northern Israel.
Fundraising
Launch your personal fundraising page today to help British Friends of Rambam provide vital care and hope to those who need it most.
Wills & Legacies
Leave a lasting legacy by including British Friends of Rambam in your Will and help fund vital care for generations to come.
Corporates & Trusts
Corporate partnerships and Trust support, enable Rambam Health Care Campus to deliver world-class care, pioneering treatments, and innovative medical research that benefits patients from across the region and often worldwide too..
By working together, companies and trusts can fund critical equipment, breakthrough therapies, research programs, and patient-focused programs that improve outcomes every day.
Your support creates a lasting impact, helping save lives, advance healthcare, and bring hope.
