Rosh Hashanah 5779 Stats

Schneider Children’s marked the conclusion of the Jewish Year of 5779 following a productive and successful year of clinical treatment and research where many children of all ages from all over the country received care and a new quality of life.

During 5779:

• Over 55,000 children were treated in the ER, the largest in the country
• 206,750 visits were registered in the outpatient clinics and institutes
• 44 organ transplantations
• 44 bone marrow transplantations

Scores of children underwent organ transplantation at Schneider Children's during the past year, among them 3 children who each received a new heart following organ donations that saved their lives. A few days prior to the Festival of Channukah in December, 11½-year-old Michael received a new heart just a month and a half after undergoing the implant of an artificial heart (a pump in the left chamber) that stabilized his condition until a live heart was donated. In March, 13½-year-old Shalom Dov underwent a life-saving heart transplant, and later, during the summer vacation, 10-year-old Adam received a new heart, 5 months after he was connected to an artificial pump.

Two altruistic organ donations accorded a new kidney from Michal for 5-year-old Leon (neither knew one another), and a liver lobe for 8-year-old Mursal from Husam. Hussan Terrif, an officer in the Prisons Service, took place recently at Schneider Children’s. Hussan, a father of 3 from Kafr Mejar, decided to save the life of 8-year-old Mursal Elbalaus from the Druze community in Jordan by donating a liver lobe to him despite not knowing him. The two cases garnered much admiration among the medical teams.

Over the past year, many children were treated for swallowing foreign objects, including an 11-month-old who swallowed a jelly ball that swelled and blocked his colon threatening his life. Following extraction via gastroscopy, the infant recovered well.

Last summer, an unusual string of coincidences occurred in the Neonatal Department culminating in the hospitalization of 12 sets of twins all at the same time. The staff who treat small preemies regularly was particularly excited about the accumulation of so many twins in the department at once.

For the second consecutive year, the Neonatal Department at Schneider attained first place among 29 neonatal units in the country according to a scale of the Ministry of Health. The Department serves as a tertiary care unit for premature infants and newborns and treats an average of 1000 babies annually.

A rare and complex operation was performed in a 7-year-old girl to remove a chordoma tumor located at the base of her skull covering the first two cervical vertebrae, pressing on the brain stem.

Over 40 hours and several consecutive days, and with immense concentration and enormous patience, surgeons succeeded in reaching the tumor and gradually withdrawing bit by bit of the tumor through the child’s nose using a special endoscope. A multidisciplinary team of specialists participated in the surgery and attended the child through her recovery.

The “Schneider Hamudi” Clinic opened during the past year at Schneider Children’s. This unique model merges community medicine with all the services of a children’s hospital. The clinic is managed by specialists and senior physicians from the hospital, who collectively provide care, and in doing so, promote familiarity with the hospital. The clinic is open 6 days a week, with extended hours, to facilitate parent visits and has proved a successful venture since it opened.