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Ron Lederman, MD

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Mark Kwartowitz, DO

Lakes Medical Center

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248.669.2000

16 October 31 • 2013

Architectural rendering of the Central Arava Medical Center

Medical Need

Doctors for Israel event to aid
new clinic under way in Arava.

j

ewish National Fund will
hold its second annual
Doctors for Israel dinner on
Wednesday, Nov. 6, at Tam-O-Shanter
Country Club in West Bloomfield.
Dr. Mark Rosenblum, department
chairman of neurosurgery of the
Henry Ford Health System and co-
director of the Hermelin Brain Center,
will be honored at the event, with
Henry Ford Health System CEO Nancy
Schlichting as guest speaker.
For the second year, proceeds from
the event will fully go to support the
construction of an urgently needed
medical center in Central Arava.
Dr. Leora Bar-Levav, president of JNF-
Michigan, recently visited Sapir, the
village where the old clinic is located
and where construction of the new
clinic is already under way.
"The clinic serves as the catchment
area of Central Arava, that portion
of Israel that is south of Beersheva,
extending down to Eilat," she explained.
"The people of the region are our mod-
ern-day chalutzim, or pioneers, helping
to settle part of the Negev, which was
always David Ben-Gurion's dream.
"With hardship and without many
of the luxuries available to residents of
the larger northern cities, the people of
the Arava region are truly making the
desert bloom, producing 60 percent
of the total export of Israeli vegetables
and 10 percent of its flowers:' she said.
"They work the land, develop
the region, conduct biomedical and
agricultural research, and formally
train thousands of young adults from
Southeast Asia about the agriculture
industry — advancing goodwill and

relations with dozens of countries.
And they do all this with a minimum
of infrastructure.
"An updated clinic is a must:' Bar-
Levav said passionately. "The Central
Arava region is currently serviced by
two physicians that must travel from
village to village, making consistent
medical care impossible.
"The new center is located in the
middle of the region and will allow the
physicians a permanent position to see
patients from the whole area. It will also
provide a pharmacy, a physical therapy
suite, and separate rooms to see chil-
dren, adults and gynecologic patients.
"Currently, residents must either
wait for a day when the doctor is in
their village or travel 11/2 hours to fill
monthly scripts, rehabilitate or simply
care for a sick child:' Bar-Levav said.
"These are common resources we in
Michigan take for granted as being
readily available and within minutes
from our homes. Not so, yet, for the
residents of Central Arava.
"But we can make a truly tangible
difference in their lives by helping
them complete the new medical
center. It is my hope that those of us
that enjoy the security of good access
to medical care in the United States
will help our chalutzim in Israel:'
To make a donation or attend the
JNF Doctors for Israel dinner on Nov.
6, contact JNF at (248) 324-3080
or RSVPmidweststates@jnf. org , or
register online at jnf.org/dfidinner.
The cocktail reception will begin
at 5:30 p.m. Individual tickets are
$175; sponsorship opportunities are
available.

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