Tel Aviv’s Ichilov Hospital inaugurated its new Sylvan Adams Emergency Hospital on July 28, which at 8,000 square meters (9,500 square yards) is the largest emergency room in the world. Israeli-Canadian businessman and philanthropist Sylvan Adams donated $28 million for its establishment.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog thanked Adams for his generous support of the Israeli people, calling him a “true ambassador of Israeli society.”
Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid toured the new emergency room and its various departments, accompanied by Ichilov Hospital CEO Professor Roni Gamzu and Adams.
“I commend you for building this new emergency room, the largest and most advanced in the country. It will serve not only the residents of Tel Aviv but those of the entire country. It will ensure that the citizens of Israel have quick, advanced and high-level treatment,” said Lapid.
“This emergency room combines the very best the State of Israel has to offer: Our incredible human capital that produces the best doctors, nurses and medical teams in the world, and the technology of the high-tech nation that equips them with the most advanced tools in order to fight for our health,” he added.
Lapid said of Adams: “Both of us are children of Holocaust survivors. You were brought up with a strong sense of responsibility for the State of Israel, for the next generation, for its welfare and for its values. Your father, Marcel, of blessed memory, would certainly have been proud of you today. On behalf of the State of Israel, thank you.”
Also in attendance at the opening ceremony were Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai, Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz, members of Knesset, doctors, nurses, HMO CEOs and other officials.
Adams, who cut the ribbon at the inauguration ceremony, said, “At Ichilov, I am happy to provide the residents of the State of Israel with the largest and most advanced emergency room of its kind. The innovative technology, the worldview that places the patient at the center and the high level of infrastructure create an advanced level of service and treatment for the benefit of the State of Israel.”
The facility is equipped with the latest technology in patient assessment, enabling patients to self-triage, scan their identity documents or medical referral, and check temperatures and blood-pressure levels before being assigned a medical professional for treatment. There will also be a station with facial recognition and digital self-registration. At each stage, the recording of any abnormal or critical results will immediately alert the medical staff.
In addition, the hospital has dedicated sections for providing care determined by the patient’s condition and psychiatric classification, a short-term hospitalization department and a room for the acute care of victims of sexual assault.
The facility is also equipped with mobile robots to greet visitors and help patients navigate the emergency hospital as well as departments outside the facility. The technologies are designed to streamline triage patient assessment, lower waiting times and lead to more efficient and effective medical care.
Ichilov CEO Gamzu said, “Our emergency room treats complicated cases on a large scale and therefore the challenge of providing outstanding service is significant. We are determined to change this and to prove that it is possible to demand and to receive quick, outstanding treatment even during busy periods.”
“I am grateful to Mr. Sylvan Adams, whose generosity has fulfilled Ichilov’s dream on behalf of more than [a quarter] million Israelis who visit Ichilov’s emergency care wing every year,” he added.
On the ground floor of the new building is an inpatient department that includes spacious halls and around 100 monitored beds—the largest number of beds in emergency care departments in Israel. That number can be doubled during emergencies. Also on the ground floor is a shock and trauma room with advanced equipment and an imaging area with two CT machines.
The first floor includes an ambulatory wing with 30 medical testing rooms and a large treatment hall. It also provides an emergency-care team and, for the first time in Israel, professional advisers in the fields of cardiology, neurology, dermatology and sexual health.
Upon reception, patients can also be referred to dedicated emergency rooms in the following areas: orthopedics, ophthalmology, and head and neck surgery. In addition, the facility contains Tel Aviv’s first psychiatric emergency room.
On the top floor, there is a short-term hospitalization and inpatient department with 32 monitored beds designed for patients who need further tests or continued treatment. The purpose of this department is to reduce demand in the other hospitalization departments and, in particular, the internal medicine departments.
On the roof of the building is an amphitheater for patients awaiting treatment. It includes lawns, benches and coffee stations, and can also hold events for up to 500 people.
The three-story building was designed by Sharon Architects in collaboration with Rani Ziss Architects.
