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As Jewish families around the world celebrated Passover, a ceasefire with Iran brought measured relief and a first step toward emerging from weeks of sustained wartime conditions. Students from our Youth Aliyah villages who went home when the war began will return to Meir Shfeyah and Hadassah Neurim, and the Hadassah Medical Organization (HMO) has safely moved all patients from underground sheltered facilities back to their regular, above-ground wards, at both Hadassah Hospital Ein Kerem and Mount Scopus campuses. This move ends a 40-day period where HMO ran 16 emergency sites while also maintaining all normal medical services.
Prof. Yoram Weiss, director general of HMO, emphasized that while the return to routine is a welcome step, Hadassah hospitals remain prepared and will monitor the situation closely.
The operation followed a phased plan prepared in advance by hospital leadership, with patient safety and infection prevention as the primary guiding priorities. The most challenging aspect of the transfer involved mobilizing critically ill patients connected to ECMO life-support and ventilation, some of whom had been sedated in the underground wards for weeks. Moving patients in this condition requires large multidisciplinary teams and meticulous coordination. Thanks to the extraordinary staff of physicians, nurses and technicians, all transfers were completed successfully, including the return of the premature infants to their specialized unit at Hadassah Mount Scopus.
Yaniv Sherer, director of Hadassah Ein Kerem, noted that during the conflict, the hospital sustained a scope of activity unmatched by any other medical facility in Israel. While maintaining emergency protocols, Hadassah hospitals continued to run three shifts of operating rooms, high-volume clinics and ongoing trauma care, all while managing a record number of deliveries.
While the underground hospital in the Gandel Rehabilitation Center on Mount Scopus remains open for internal medicine due to scheduled renovations, the majority of departments have now returned to their regular workspaces.
HMO Board Chair Dalia Itzik stated that the transition was carried out with an uncompromising commitment to patient safety and the continuity of care."At its core, Passover is a powerful reminder that freedom is precious and fragile and that even moments of hope can carry uncertainty," said Hadassah National President Carol Ann Schwartz. While we hope the ceasefire will hold, the situation remains unpredictable and can change quickly. This is why Hadassah’s ability to respond in real time and prepare for what comes next is so important.""For 40 days of war, Hadassah hospitals functioned under extraordinary conditions, ensuring the safety of patients and staff," said Ellen Finkelstein, Hadassah's CEO. "It was nothing short of remarkable."
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