Laniado Hospital

Laniado Hospital, also known as Sanz Medical Center, is an independent, voluntary, not-for-profit hospital serving the Netanya and Sharon areas of Kiryat Sanz, Netanya, Israel. The hospital was founded in 1975 by Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam. Laniado Hospital offers various medical and surgical services and is managed by halakha (Jewish law).
==Origin==
The vision for Laniado Hospital originated during the Holocaust when Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam experienced firsthand the brutality of the Nazis. He survived the horrors of the Holocaust, losing his entire family, including his wife and eleven children. Despite his fear of seeking medical help from the Nazis, he managed to treat his wound in a Nazi death camp using natural remedies and prayer, which healed in three days.
This experience deeply impacted Rabbi Halberstam, leading him to make a promise to himself: “If he survived and escaped the Nazis, he would build a hospital in Israel where every human being would be cared for with dignity. This hospital would be founded on the principle that its medical staff would believe in the presence of God and view treating patients as the greatest mitzvah (good deed) in the Torah.”
By establishing Laniado Hospital in Israel, Rabbi Halberstam fulfilled his promise to provide compassionate care rooted in faith and respect for human life.
==History==
Laniado Hospital's history dates back to the vision of Rabbi Yekusiel Yehudah Halberstam, who embarked on his mission shortly after founding the Hasidic community of Kiryat Sanz in northern Netanya. In 1958, he initiated the hospital's establishment. Rabbi Halberstam initially faced several obstacles, including a lack of resources, funding, and building permits. However, a change in government in 1962 transferred the Health Ministry to the Torah-observant Hapoel HaMizrachi party, facilitating the issuance of the building permit.
Laniado Hospital opened its first building, an outpatient clinic, in 1975, followed by a maternity ward in 1976 and various other departments in subsequent years, including emergency services, cardiology, ophthalmology, and dialysis units. Until his passing in 1994, Rabbi Halberstam played a pivotal role in planning and overseeing the hospital's development.
==Departments==
Laniado Hospital encompasses a range of departments, including radiology, hematology, pediatric emergency, oncology, orthopedics, surgery, neurology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, cardiology, in vitro fertilization, geriatrics, and women's health. Notably, its maternity ward is the largest department, delivering over 6,000 babies annually.
With approximately 460 beds and more than 60 inpatient wards, medical units, institutes, laboratories, and administrative and medical departments, Laniado Hospital is the sole healthcare facility in Greater Netanya, catering to around 500,000 individuals.
==Funding==
Rabbi Halberstam personally fundraised for 15 years across North and South America. As the hospital received donations, its construction progressed. In 1963, the hospital received a significant contribution in the form of a $300,000 bequest from the estate of Swiss bankers Alfonse and Yaakov Avraham Laniado, who specified their estate's use to found a hospital named "Laniado" in Eretz Israel.
In 1972, the hospital received a $500,000 grant from the United States Agency for International Development, which helped Rabbi Halberstam complete the essential infrastructure such as electrical, plumbing, and elevator systems.
==Nursing school==
In 1978, Rabbi Halberstam founded the Laniado Nursing School to teach the "Jewish way" of caring for the sick. By 2006, the school had graduated 1,000 nurses. The school offers a 30-month certification course for religious girls, including an 18-month focus on halakhic healing aspects, and a 20-month practical nursing course for women of all backgrounds. In 1986, it was renamed the Tessler Nursing School after receiving a new building donated by Rudolph and Edith Tessler.
==Mission==
As an independent, not-for-profit hospital, Laniado's uniqueness is that it is strictly managed according to halakha. Upon its inauguration, Laniado Hospital was guided by a set of nine founding principles formulated by the Klausenburger Rebbe. These principles underscore the hospital's core mission, rooted in fulfilling the Torah's commandments of healing, compassion, and faith in God.
Laniado Hospital operates strictly under Jewish law, with a hospital rabbi available around the clock to address halakhic queries, oversee staff training, and supervise the kashrut (dietary laws) of the food served. Within the hospital, a spiritual supervisor observes Shabbat and Jewish holidays, performing rituals such as Kiddush, and Havdalah, and blowing the shofar. Non-Jewish staff handle tasks requiring work on Shabbat and Yom Tov (holidays). The dress code follows the principles of tzniut (modesty), and the premises prohibit the use of television sets.
The Rebbe insists that a strike must never cause the hospital to close. Consequently, every employee's contract incorporates a no-strike clause. Laniado tested this policy during the 1983 general doctors' strike, standing apart from other hospitals, and has never participated in any doctors' or nurses' strikes since.
==Medical research and discoveries==
Laniado Hospital is actively engaged in medical research and innovation to improve and discover new methods for treating and preventing diseases. The hospital's research team has published numerous medical research papers internationally, including notable discoveries such as a treatment for West Nile fever.
Current research and development projects at Laniado Hospital include a novel therapy for West Nile virus infection, BC stem cell research focusing on innovative stem cell-based therapies, and studying the effect of an insulin-enriched formula on gastrointestinal tract maturation in preterm infants. Additionally, research studies at Laniado Hospital include secondary neuronal damage in fetal Spina Bifida and associated hydrocephalus, neonatal screening for early detection of Gaucher disease in high-risk populations, and pediatric influenza A/H1N1 infection in a primary hospital in Israel.
==References==
==External links==
* Official website
* Laniado Hospital Development Fund
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Category:Hospitals established in 1975
Category:Hospitals in Israel
Category:Non-profit corporations
Category:Health care