
As hundreds of white and blue balloons were released into the sky, the first cancer patients walked through the doors of the Davidoff Center on that beautiful Sunday of May 8, 2005.
Situated on the Rabin Medical Center Campus, the Davidoff Center was completed and opened for service thanks to the generosity of the Davidoff family of Mexico City. It is the first and largest comprehensive center for the treatment and research of cancer in Israel and the Middle East. Rabin Medical Center treats one-fifth of Israel's cancer patients and is a leading partner in the worldwide effort to overcome diseases associated with cancer. The Davidoff Center will continue to assure that Rabin Medical Center is a leading international cancer center.
Dr. Dan Oppenheim, CEO of Rabin Medical Center, stressed that the Davidoff Center is revolutionary not only because of its emphasis on research and treatment but also because it was built and managed with an eye toward maximum privacy, comfort, and respect for patients and their visitors.
For the first time in Israel, Rabin Medical Center's Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, headed by Dr. Eyal Porat, implanted an artificial heart as a replacement for a real heart.
Tzipora Ronen, patient and famous artist - whose
works have been shown around the world and especially
in Mexico, met the Davidoff family who have
a home in Mexico and made this center possible.
Last night was a great night for American Friends of Rabin Medical Center as AFRMC founder Arlene Strelitz and I represented all of us in Israel at the opening of the new 54,000 foot Jusidman Emergency and Trauma Center.