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New Neonatal Nursery
Women's and Maternity Hospital
From Israel's pioneering origins to the modern complex society of today, women have played a central role in the life of our nation. At Rabin Medical Center (RMC) we appreciate the importance of providing women with the best available medical and wellness services to enable them to lead healthy, productive, energetic lives.
With this goal in mind, RMC established the Women's and Maternity Hospital, dedicated to providing the highest quality medical care for women throughout Israel and the region. It is a comprehensive women's health center, dedicated to providing integrated care for health problems women face, throughout every stage of their lives - all under one roof.
The Hospital is housed within a four-story building totaling approximately 10,000 sq.meters and offers both hospitalization and ambulatory services. It is now the largest Ob/Gyn facility in the country with a superior staff of physicians, nurses, paramedical personnel and researchers, offering medical services and clinics that deal with all major facets of a woman's life cycle and medical needs, some of which have attained national and international recognition for their work.
An ultra-modern work environment was tailored to support the professional work of the highly skilled multi-disciplinary team of physicians, nurses and support staff. At the same time, the custom-designed facilities provide patients with pleasant, comfortable surroundings.
The Women's Hospital's highly-skilled staff includes prominent physicians in such complex areas as High Risk Pregnancies, In Vitro Fertilization, Gynecological Oncology and Diagnostic Ultrasound, as well as Osteoporosis diagnosis and treatment. It also offers a Breast Center Clinic, Genetic Counseling and a Women's Health Information Center - an innovative venture offering a wide range of information resources for women, encouraging them to make educated decisions concerning health care options.
The center plays an important role in Israeli continuity with over 9,000 births per year in the state-of-the-art Delivery Rooms, a very impressive number even by international standards. Additional services include the Neonatology Department and 3 Maternity Wards.
We are proud that our patients are offered the highest standards of preventive, diagnostic, medical and surgical care, all in perfect harmony and reflecting the manifold needs of women.
Neonatology Department
Rabin Medical Center has one of Israel's largest obstetrical services in Israel, with close to 9,000 births annually. Following giving birth, mothers and their newborn babies are cared for in the Maternity and Neonatal Care Wing, situated on an entire floor of the Women's Hospital.
The mothers are hospitalized in three Maternity Departments, with private or semi-private suites. These facilities were designed with the objective that new mothers should enjoy comfortable home-like surroundings and maximum privacy following childbirth, with the belief that this supportive atmosphere enhances the initial mother-baby bonding. Emphasis is also placed on sanitary conditions, to ensure a healthy environment for new babies.
An integral part of the Wing is the Neonatology Department, headed by Prof. Nehama Linder, for the initial care of the new infants by the expert medical and nursing staff.
The Neonatology Department is composed of a number of closely related sub-units:
- Reception, for primary care of infants in the first hours of life. Here, the baby is washed, measured, undergoes comprehensive examination by a Neonatal Physician, and receives first inoculations.
- Three Level I Newborn Nurseries are situated adjacent to the three Maternity Departments for care and supervision of infants. The mothers are given the following options for having their babies by their sides: full rooming-in, partial rooming-in, no rooming-in. Most mothers choose partial rooming in, with their babies by their sides from the early morning hours until 9:00 p.m., other than a two-hour rest in the afternoon. Here the babies are cared for when away from their mothers.
- The Preterm and Level II Intermediate Nursery Unit for infants in need of special care and constant supervision, many of them in incubators, due to a variety of conditions, such as underweight, feeding problems, suspicion of infection, congenital defects, infant jaundice, withdrawal effects from medications ingested by mothers during pregnancy and more.
The highly qualified staff of the Department gives babies the best possible medical and nursing care, and warm attention to the mothers. Every day the babies undergo thorough check-ups by the physicians, specialists in neonatal care, to rule out health problems. In addition, the staff is always ready for emergency treatment of infants, if necessary.
Parents are given full reports regarding their infant. The staff assists and guides the mother regarding the care and feeding of her infant. Furthermore, group lectures take place on a number of relevant subjects, including breastfeeding, care of baby during the first days at home, safety and more.
Needs Statement
The Neonatal facilities were planned about 15 years ago, with the merger of 2 separate maternity wings from two hospitals, each with outdated facilities and a total of 4,000 births annually. Since then, the Department has become one of the leading such facilities in the country, with an excellent reputation. With close to 9,000 births every year, the total number of births has more than doubled. The number of beds in the Maternity Department has recently been increased, housing an additional 10 beds. The number of births is expected to continue to rise, with the widespread construction of new neighborhoods and an increase of thousands of apartments in the area as well as the close vicinity of the hospital to both ultra-orthodox and Arab areas.
The Department was planned for a capacity of 73 bassinets. However, on average there are about 80-85 infants in the Nursery, about 110-120% occupancy, and at times even more. This overcrowding is detrimental to the staff's work. The Intermediate Nursery Unit, for babies under 24-hour supervision, is especially overcrowded. Here infants are often in large incubators rather than compact bassinets.
It is now vital that we expand the Neonatology Department, to house the constantly rising number of babies in suitable facilities, allowing staff to care for and supervise babies in completely safe and well-planned amenities.
Expansion of the Neonatology Department
The New Neonatal Nursery in Maternity C
In order to meet the need to expand the Neonatology Department, there are plans to establish an additional Neonatal Nursery within Maternity C. Establishment of this new Neonatal Nursery will allow the hospital to meet the projected increase in capacity in well-planned surroundings, with enhanced efficiency. It will also enable a significant enlargement of the Intermediate Nursery Unit located in the major nursery.
The new nursery will be built in an area occupied at present by two hospitalization rooms and a corridor and will measure a total of about 500 sq.ft. It will have a capacity for 23 infants, and will include:
- Ward with 23 basinets for care and supervision of infants. It will include counters and sinks for washing, weighing, changing diapers and dressing infants.
- Well-equipped infant resuscitation and treatment room
- Staff work area, with computers
- Storage area
- Washrooms
Equipment will include:
- 23 basinets
- Heaters
- Resuscitation bed
- Monitor
- Resuscitation equipment
- Portable incubator
The new Neonatal Nursery will be "home" during the first days of life for thousands of babies every year. We will be most honored to put up a plaque with the name of donors in the new Nursery.
Dedication Cost: $125,000
For further information, please contact American Friends of Rabin Medical Center at (212) 279-2522 or via e-mail
American Friends of Rabin Medical Center :: 636 Broadway, Suite 218 :: New York, NY 10012 :: (tel) 212.279.2522 :: (fax) 212.279.0179 :: afrmc@afrmc.org