Soroka Medical Center Saluted at the Pierre Hotel “Pillars of Progress” Gala

By Lieba Nesis

American Friends of Soroka Medical Center celebrated its 11th annual “Pillars of Progress” gala on Tuesday June 4, 2024 at the Pierre Hotel with cocktails beginning at 6 PM. This year over 340 attendees, double the amount of last year, came to salute the hospital, which was established in Beersheba in 1959, for its heroic undertakings during the October 7thHamas massacre where it treated the largest number of wounded.  During the past 8 months Soroka has cared for more than 3,100 casualties, including more than 52 wounded soldiers in the past week alone-with 6 in critical condition.

Soroka, located 25 miles from the Gaza Strip, is the only major medical center for the entire south of Israel, and the only Level-1 trauma and tertiary care in the region.  Its patient volume per year is immense with 600,000 outpatient admissions, 84,000 inpatient visits,  32,000 surgeries, 17,000 babies delivered and 250,000 emergency visits. The evening honored three giants in the field of medicine and leadership: Dr. Rabbi Elie Abadie, Dr. Joel Sheinfeld and Dr. David Goldberg.  The legendary Abadie is the leader of the Edmond J Safra Synagogue and the founder of the Moise Safra Center in Manhattan.  He received both his rabbinical degree and his MD from Yeshiva University and is fluent in English, Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic, French, Italian and Portuguese-he is the ultimate Renaissance man.  He is currently the Senior Rabbi of the Jewish Council of the Emirates, the Chief Rabbi of the Association of Gulf Jewish Communities, and the Chairman of the Council of Sephardic Sages.

Married to his wife Elise Eichler for over 37 years and currently residing in Dubai, he has made a worldwide name for himself as one of the few rabbis able to bridge the gap between the Muslim and Jewish communities. His hesitancy in receiving the honor was indicative of his humble demeanor as he accepted his award to a standing ovation and huge plaudits from the adoring crowd as he remains a pillar of the Sephardic community. Abadi remarked that in responding to the needs of his congregation he often acts in a dual capacity as both spiritual and physical adviser.

Other esteemed awardees included renowned urologist Dr. Joel Sheinfeld who was introduced by media personality Dan Abrams who credited Sheinfeld with saving his life after his diagnosis of testicular cancer a little over 20 years ago.  As Vice Chairman and Deputy Chief of Urology at Memorial Sloan Kettering, Sheinfeld has pioneered lifesaving treatments in both testicular and urological care.  In honor of his exemplary contributions The Dr. Joel Sheinfeld Urology Institute was established at Soroka in January 2024 to benefit the Negev and raise the standard of medical care in the entirety of Israel.  The final honoree Dr. David Goldberg, an esteemed internist at Columbia Doctors and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Columbia University Medical Center for the past 30 years and an expert in travel medicine, Lyme disease, HIV and community acquired infections received his award with little fanfare. His expertise in navigating the Covid pandemic proved critical to Soroka during challenging times.

This year Soroka’s prominence as a dominant provider of care during the October 7th massacre was highlighted by a video that depicted the horrors of that day unfolding as doctors described trying to dodge missiles while also caring for incoming patients that began arriving at 7:30 AM.  More than 5300 employees were mobilized after they declared the event an MCI-mass casualty incident-at 8 in the morning.  At 3 PM a peak was reached as more than 1300 clinicians were called to the hospital with reinforcements from other hospitals including 28 nurses and 18 physicians gathering at Soroka.  The hospital quickly reorganized its hospital space, equipment and resources to accommodate the severely wounded requiring trauma care, surgery and imaging.

In the early hours of October 8th more than 130 wounded were transferred to alternative hospitals by ambulance and helicopter to prepare for additional casualties and restock supplies. A total of 674 casualties were treated that day, as the previous daily record was 300, as more than 3100 casualties have been tended to since October 7th the largest mass casualty event at a hospital ever recorded.  The necessity for supportive care for hospital caregivers and first responders was established due to the enormity of the tragedy. Under the guidance of the Director General Dr. Shlomi Codish, Soroka emerged triumphant in its efforts at rehabilitation in both physical and mental care. Emcee and Channel 12 News Anchor Tara Rosenblum noted that 85-year-old hostage Elma Avraham was recently discharged from Soroka after five months in intensive care and rehabilitation after being held as a Hamas hostage for 51 days along with pediatric emergency nurse Nili Margalit who recently returned to work at Soroka after treating her fellow captives in Hamas tunnels.

Rosenblum noted that Joe Lieberman’s Jewish pride was one of the reasons she resisted suggestions to change her name. Honorary Gala chairs Hadassah and Joe Lieberman were saluted as Joe who recently passed away in March from an accidental fall was an ardent supporter of Soroka and Israel.  A grief stricken Hadassah was joined by her granddaughter who recounted her extraordinary experience on Birthright Israel and her grandfather’s devotion to the State.  The extraordinary dinner which included short ribs, chicken and smoked salmon for $2,000 a ticket concluded after 10 PM as guests expressed gratitude to Soroka-a paradigm of excellence during unforeseen circumstances.