Involvement in the Community

Shamir (Assaf Harofeh) Medical Center is very active in extending medical, educational and social services to the community it serves and attempts are constantly made to strengthen the relations with its community. 
 
 Therefore, the Medical Center has taken on various social services in the area, starting with a soup kitchen where 200 people are served a hot meal daily, and continuing with an Outpatient Clinic for Arab children, educational programs for teenagers in schools and special attention to the geriatric citizens residing in its catchment area.

Asya's Dream

​Asya's Dream, a soup kitchen for the needy elderly and unemployed, in a poor suburb of the nearby city of Ramla, was opened by the Medical Center in the year 2000, with the help of a generous donor from Japan.  Hundreds of hot meals are transported to Ramla from the Medical Center's central kitchen day by day, and 50% of these meals are supplied directly to the homes.


A Day for the Aged

​A Day for the Aged is an event where senior members of the community are invited to spend half a day at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.  Lectures on relevant geriatric topics are given by senior doctors, together with some social recreation.  The participation rate is overwhelming.


Health Promotion and Health Education Programs for Teenagers

​A particularly sensitive, and at times unstable group, is that of high school teenagers.  Pediatricians from Assaf Harofeh Medical Center, especially those who are experts in juvenile medicine, lecture on a regular basis in high schools in the nearby city of Rishon le Zion, mainly on topics regarding general health, drug abuse, contraception, and other issues.  The activities include screening and treatment initiation for illnesses and disorders characteristic of adolescence such as eating disorders, growth and development impairments, and risk-taking behavior.  Besides the medical aspects, the core of the intervention program is health promotion education of the youths.


A monthly Pregnancy Outreach Program

​A monthly Pregnancy Outreach Program providing valuable information to hundreds of pregnant women in the Rishon le Zion area has been operating for several years.


A Center for Health and Peace

​A Center for Health and Peace in Ramla is an Outpatient Clinic for the Arab population, run by the Division of Pediatrics.  Hospital physicians work in the clinic, examining children mainly from the surrounding neighborhood.


Educational Programs and Courses

  • A unique course for outstanding high school students from Ayanot Youth Village (a cultural community focusing on absorbing youngsters), and a high school in Rishon le Zion, takes place under the academic auspices of Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.  The students study "An introduction to Medicine" (equal to 5 – 10 matriculation modules,) and also submit research work (equal to 1 matriculation module), all of which is carried out under the supervision and instruction of senior physicians from Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.  The program combines enrichment studies at the hospital, meetings with researchers in the various fields of medicine, and research work.  In addition, the students are taken on educational tours of the various medical departments at the hospital: The secret of the success of this program is the integration and cooperation between the community and the Medical Center.
  •  A special program for Israeli high school students takes place at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center.  This program offers a unique opportunity for high school seniors to become acquainted with the field of medicine.  The students spend one day at the Medical Center during which they attend lectures given by senior physicians and are taken on educational tours of some of the departments and facilities such as the Operating Theaters, The Hyperbaric Institute, and The Dialysis Unit.
  • Each year, medical students from the USA arrive at the hospital for long periods of study within the framework of "The New York Program" organized by the Tel Aviv University.  Assaf Harofeh Medical Center is unique with respect to good, informal relationships between employees, which results in a good atmosphere for students and interns arriving at the hospital to study.  The team of lecturers and instructors at Assaf Harofeh Medical Center receives praise yearly from the students.

The "Assif" School for Special Education

​The "Assif" School for Special Education is a specialized center providing education and rehabilitation, from nursery to second grade of elementary school, for mentally normal children born with cerebral palsy and developmental disturbances.  "Assif" is a unique institute since it is an educational facility within the hospital compound thereby enabling a combination of medicine and education.