Sheba Hosts Ukrainian Parliament,  Sharing Emergency Medicine Expertise

A delegation of seven Ukrainian parliamentarians involved with Ukraine’s healthcare system visited Sheba Medical Center to learn from the hospital’s world-renowned expertise in emergency and crisis medicine. The visit focused on understanding Sheba’s hospital operations that could help support Ukraine’s ongoing efforts to treat the wounded amid continued missile and drone attacks.

Behind every emergency protocol, there are people. Families. Lives that need protecting.

This week, we welcomed a delegation of Ukrainian Members of Parliament, led by Olha Vasylevska-Smahliuk, Co-Chair of the Ukrainian Parliamentary Friendship Group, for a meaningful and heartfelt visit to Sheba Medical Center. Welcomed by Tamara Hatav, Sheba’s Director of Global Relations & Partnerships, the delegation toured Sheba’s field and emergency hospital facilities and the emergency department, learning about the hospital’s emergency preparedness protocols and operations during crisis situations.

Their journey brought with it stories of resilience, hope, and a shared mission: to provide safe, continuous care even in the most challenging circumstances, such as discussing how to maintain medical operations during missile attacks, mass causality events, and shared with them our approach to the rapid admission and treatment of civilians and soldiers alike. This visit opened the door to future collaboration between our countries, not just hospital to hospital, but heart to heart.

Sheba’s Vice President of Global Affairs, Yoel Har-Even, who previously served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a combat paramedic and rose to the rank of Assistant to the Surgeon General, presented case studies on emergency preparedness and hospital operations under fire. 

During their visit, we organized a meeting with a team of Ukrainian doctors currently training at Sheba for the past two years, which is part of a broader initiative that includes rehabilitating wounded Ukrainian soldiers.

“We have done some preliminary contacts regarding the possible rehabilitation of Ukrainian soldiers in Sheba Medical Center, which is very important,” said Oles Dovgiy, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament’s Health Committee.

The visit builds on a growing partnership between the two countries. In 2022, Sheba Medical Center, through its Humanitarian and Disaster Response Center led by its director, Prof. Elhanan Bar-On, deployed “Shining Star,” a field hospital in Western Ukraine. Staffed by hundreds of medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, engineers, pharmacists, and lab technicians, the facility operated for six weeks, treating over 6,000 Ukrainian patients. It included 66 inpatient beds, a triage area, ER, delivery room, lab, pharmacy, imaging, and telemedicine units.

“From the beginning of the war in 2022, one of the first hospitals deployed to Ukraine was from Sheba, with 200 staff that worked 24/7 to help Ukrainians,” expressed Oles Dovgiy, “and what we saw [on our visit] was very exciting.” He concluded, “We are very grateful to the Sheba team for the help we have received.”

As Prof. Yitshak Kreiss, Director General of Sheba, says, “It is our personal and national responsibility to extend a helping hand to every human being, especially since we have the knowledge and capability to carry out this mission.” But at Sheba, we don’t just advise others on emergency preparedness, we live it. During Operation Rising Lion, our teams put these principles into action, safeguarding patients, relocating critical departments underground, and continuing care amid missile attacks. It’s this lived experience that strengthens our ability to support others facing a crisis.