Sheba is Headed to the Negev!

May 10, 2024

David Ben Gurion, who had the vision to found Sheba Tel Hashomer Medical Center, saw the Negev as the future of Israel. However, the region was slow to develop, compared to the center of the country. This began to change in recent years, in part when the IDF decided to do a massive amount of relocation there, alongside tech companies.

Now Israel wants to significantly upgrade the medical capacities of the Negev, and the government has chosen Sheba to lead and build a new hospital.

To be managed by Sheba in collaboration with HMOs Leumit and Meuhedet, this facility will bring first-class health services to the residents of the Negev and provide a response to the growing demand for quality medical care in the region.

The Ministry of Health reported, “Because of the existing challenges for Leumit and Meuhedet to run a large hospital facility on a daily basis especially in the periphery where limited services are available to the public, the State of Israel in cooperation with Leumit and Meuhedet has chosen Sheba Medical Center, to manage and run the new facility based on its vast experience in managing and running a major medical facility. We believe that this is a major step forward in rectifying the on-going problems in providing quality healthcare to the citizens of Beersheba and beyond.”

“This is a historic step, not only for the Negev but for public health in Israel. Establishing an additional hospital in the Negev, in collaboration with HMOs and a government-run hospital, will change the health system and provide residents of the periphery excellent healthcare,” said Professor Yitshak Kreiss, Director General of Sheba Medical Center. “We are grateful to the State of Israel for approving this new hospital and trusting Sheba to manage the facility, putting the infrastructure in place to reduce health disparities in the periphery and laying the foundations for healthcare of the future.”

The new hospital will adopt advanced AI (artificial intelligence) technologies and integrate groundbreaking treatments, pioneered and created at Sheba, as well as employing multidisciplinary and skilled professional teams. Representing a transformation in the Negev, the hospital will help reduce the health disparities between the center and periphery of Israel, enabling residents of the South to access among the best medical care globally.

In the midst of the darkness and challenge of the present moment, Israel is preparing for an even brighter future.

I have to think that David Ben Gurion is smiling to see the world class Israeli medical center he envisioned is coming to the Negev, where he saw Israel’s future.

Am Yisrael Chai.

Brian