BGU | MY PATH, Haim Doron, MD

however, Sheba was in error since what Clalit had decided to do was to build the hospital, which would be named for Harzfeld on land in Gedera that Harzfeld had given for this specific purpose. But Sheba also wrote that he was prepared that a young doctor from the Negev who had just been appointed medical director of Clalit would decide who was correct. He clearly felt that my approach to things was objective and to the point. There was a strong collaboration between the then director of Sheba Hospital, Prof. Mordechai Shani, 62 and me during the period of conflicts of interest between Clalit and the government hospitals: Together we established a rehabilitation institute for patients after heart attacks, Kfar HaMacabia, in Ramat Gan. It was a partnership between Clalit and Tel Hashomer. We also established the hospice at Tel Hashomer; and we were partners in founding the Center for Public Medicine, a forerunner to the Gertner Institute for Epidemiology and Public Health Research. Another example: At the time of the Yom Kippur War [1973], the director-general of the Ministry of Health was Prof. Baruch Padeh. 63 I was quite friendly with him and collaborated with him. When the war broke out, together we went to all the hospitals to see which patients could be released to free beds for the war casualties. I took it upon myself to open a home care system for chronically ill, long-term care patients, a setup that was established at the time with Clalit funding. Padeh did promise a government budget for this, but in the end, we never received it. There were other such instances of cooperation. I didn’t see any justification to split such functions, and didn’t see any logic to fight over control of them, I tried to ignore the clashes, and to collaborate as much as I could on concrete matters. A different example of my approach was reflected in my position regarding establishment of a hospital in the Negev. Ben-Gurion held the hospital must be a government-run one. While, in general, I identified deeply with Ben-Gurion’s mamlachti approach and his theory of the state taking on many independent pre-state functions, in the matter of the Negev hospital I didn’t agree with his position because I knew this was not good for residents of the Negev. At this juncture in time, without doubt, the most effective institution to develop a modern hospital was Clalit. Considering that this hospital was for the good of the community, this was also my position. Thus, I believe that in my management of a non-governmental agency such as Clalit, my approach was also mamlachti . I expected a person such as Ben-Gurion would forego a general principle in favor of the matter at hand. He did not. Nevertheless, I remained a warm and dedicated admirer of Ben- Gurion for many years.

62 Prof. Mordechai Shani (1938 - ) twice served as director-general of the Ministry of Health (1979, and 1993-1994). He was director of Sheba Medical Center for 33 years, and he partnered with Prof. Doron in establishing the National Institute for Epidemiology and Health Policy Research (the Gartner Institute). In 2005, he was the founder and subsequent director of the Tel Aviv University School of Public Health. He also was among the architects of the law for Rehabilitation of the Mentally Ill in the Community; and he chaired the Basket of Services Committee that sets the basket of services and pharmaceuticals covered under the National Health Insurance Law. He was awarded the Israel Prize in 2009 for lifetime achievements and contributions to the health system. 63 Prof. Baruch Padeh (1908-2001), studied medicine in Prague, and immigrated to Israel in 1939. He served as IDF Chief Medical Officer, was director of the Poriya Hospital in Tiberius, and also was director-general of the Ministry of Health. A professor of internal medicine, he was awarded the Israel Prize in 1985. The Poriya Hospital is now named in his memory.

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