In August 2008, Shaare Zedek Medical Center surpassed the 1,000-births-per-month mark, prompting Jerusalem’s leading maternity hospital to expand. Quickly.
Shaare Zedek opened its third maternity ward inside the Wilf Woman and Infant Center earlier this year, adding 27 patient beds for new mothers. The hospital has approximately 75 beds in its two other maternity departments.
Within hours of the opening, 15 of the new beds were full, the welcome sound of crying infants filling the nursery. The department is being opened in stages in an effort to give new moms and their babies the highest level of care.
“From the mother’s perspective, the best part is being treated to a more comfort-filled and relaxing postpartum experience,” said Uri Schwarz, the hospital’s director of international affairs. “From Shaare Zedek’s perspective, the best part is allowing us to participate in this exciting time for even more families.”
In addition to the Maternity C Department, the center opened four new delivery rooms and an enlarged admissions area for the delivery suites.
The original plan for the Wilf Woman and Infant Center when it opened in 1999 was to accommodate a maximum of 250 births per month. Before long, the birthing and postnatal facilities were operating above capacity.
The maternity ward is one of many expansions and renovations at Shaare Zedek, according to Schwarz.
Director general Jon-athan Halev opened the new department with remarks saluting the maternity staff, noting the hospital has experienced a 4 percent growth in the number of births each month.
“Sustaining this type of rapid development requires a staff of dedicated professionals who ensure that Shaare Zedek is a hospital that new parents will return to for every new child,” Halevy said. “We are deeply proud of the reputation we have assumed for excellence in this area.”
Shaare Zedek’s board of directors chairman Benzion Hochstein and his family presented the primary gift supporting the creation of the new maternity department. Hochstein said he felt “deeply proud to be associated with a hospital where personal and individualized care stands at the forefront of their provision of medicine.”