Eli
woke up
in panic.
It was 2 a.m. He was experiencing shortness of breath, and he realized that he needed to see a doctor quickly. But the closest doctor was in Jerusalem, a ride of about 40-50 minutes. The roads were dark and threatening at night, and who could even drive in this situation?
Sari stood helpless as she faced her baby, who was suffering from nonstop pain. She didn’t even have a car or any other way to get to an open clinic.
Two hours before Shabbat began, Yonatan realized that his vitally necessary box of pills was finished, and that it would be impossible to get to a pharmacy for over 24 hours
Eli, Sari and Yonatan are not unique. They simply live in Gush Etzion or Mateh Yehuda, which do not offer readily available medical solutions, as the closest medical care is available only in Jerusalem.
Refuit Medi-Cal is a genuine lifesaver in these hard-to-imagine situations. The establishment of Refuit Medi-Cal changed the map forever for these residents, literally saving many lives. Thank G-d, now they can all sleep with peace of mind
The First
Step:
A nighttime clinic
Refuit Medi-Cal’s first project was the opening of an urgent care clinic during the hours that the area’s Kupot Holim clinics and centers were closed. The clinic, which offered physician and nurse services, bandaging and blood tests, and state-of-the-art X-ray and diagnostic equipment for complex cases, was the first of its type in the entire region and was privileged to save the lives of tens of babies, children and adults.
In the beginning
The Refuit Medical Association was established with the goal of providing help, advice and guidance in the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council communities and in the city of Beitar Illit in medical disciplines that did not offer these services in the past.
Until now, the Kupat Cholim (HMO) clinics operated only in the daytime. At night, residents of the area were forced to travel to Jerusalem, a 40-minute ride. We therefore established a special nighttime clinic and acquired life-saving medical equipment to treat medical emergencies among babies, children and adults.
Thank G-d, many lives were saved thanks to the operation of the night clinic.
an acute need
of The Refuit Medical registered association was established because of an acute need.
This is in accordance with the association’s declared goal – to provide medical services, assistance and advice that are currently lacking in the Beitar Illit and Mateh Yehuda Regional Council communities.
Although Kupat Holim (Health Fund) clinics already existed, they operated only during regular daytime hours. Someone who needed to see a doctor or receive a nurse’s services after the clinics finished their day shift at 7 p.m. had to wait until the clinics opened at 8 a.m. the following day.
As a result of this situation, area residents were forced to travel to medical centers in Jerusalem for any urgent and/or emergency situation.
The closest medical center is the Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center, a 40-minute drive from the area.
This absurd situation prevailed for decades. Over the years, as the population grew steadily, too many tragic and troubling cases occurred in which young children or adults died before they reached the hospital in Jerusalem.
After several similar tragic occurrences over a short period of time, we decided to take action to remedy and improve the situation.
many lives were saved
We established a special nighttime clinic and acquired life-saving equipment to treat medical emergencies among babies, children and adults. Thank G-d, many lives were saved, thanks to the night clinic.
Some examples:
– A woman in an advanced stage of pregnancy came to the nighttime medical clinic in the middle of the night after experiencing strong stomach pains. The doctor examined her with a CBC (complete blood count) device, which indicated blood poisoning. They rushed her by ambulance to the hospital and replaced many units of blood. Thank G-d, several days later she gave birth to a healthy child.
We can give credit for this to the nighttime clinic and its life-saving equipment.
– A baby was rushed to the nighttime clinic in the middle of the night by his parents when he was having trouble breathing and turned blue. A superficial examination did not reveal the cause of the breathing problem, but the doctor used the appropriate equipment and great expertise to extract an entire balloon that was stuck in the back of the baby’s throat, blocking his airway. If not for the local nighttime clinic, who knows what the result would have been, G-d forbid.
