A New Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory Opens at Hadassah Mount Scopus

The Hadassah Medical Center Mount Scopus campus provides medical care for hundreds of thousands of residents of northern Jerusalem and the surrounding communities. Unfortunately, until recently we lacked a cardiac catheterization laboratory.  Many acute patients required transfer to Hadassah Ein Karem, which delayed treatment for critical and at times unstable patients.a

With the generous assistance of the Hadassah Women’s Organization and a USAID ASHA grant, a state of the art cardiac catheterization laboratory opened at Mount Scopus in March 2019. As of June 2019, this facility, staffed by specially trained physicians, technicians and nurses, has provided acute cardiac care 24 hours a day. Since the opening of the cath lab, over 300 procedures have been performed, including more than 50 emergency life-saving procedures in acute heart attack victims. Other critical procedures now performed at Mount Scopus include implantation of pacemakers, automatic defibrillators and cardiac hemodynamic studies. Opening of the new catheterization laboratory has greatly shortened the time needed for heart attack victims to receive life-saving care and significantly improved acute cardiac care for all residents of northern Jerusalem – Jews and Arabs alike.a

The available cath lab has resulted in increased referrals of less acute cardiac patients and cardiac admissions to Hadassah Mount Scopus.  Admissions have increased three-fold since the lab’s opening!a

Our staff represents the diverse population of Jerusalem and includes veteran and immigrant Israeli Jews, Israeli Arabs, and physicians from the Palestinian Authority. The team works in harmony to provide the best possible care for our patients.a