Doctors and parents understand that relieving the anxiety of an ill child who requires urgent care can facilitate a positive outcome for everyone involved. To that end, a new play corner has been established where children can preoccupy themselves.
Generous Donation from the Kaiser Family of New York
Professor Harold Kaiser sought to commemorate his late wife, Breina, z”l, who worked in the Albert Einstein Medical Center in N.Y. on the registration desk. The professor, himself, specializes in geriatric medicine and his son is a doctor, all at the same hospital.
Prof. Kaiser consulted with his cousin, Israel Giladi, who volunteers as a lawyer at Yad Riva, an adjunct service of Yad Sarah, providing free or minimal fee legal services. Israel approached the Public Relations Division of Yad Sarah to see if there was a commemorative opportunity. Collectively, and because of the family’s medical background, they felt the opportunity to establish this children’s play corner would be a meaningful endeavour.
The Frenkel Emergency Medical Center, Pediatric Emergency Center, housed in Yad Sarah House in Jerusalem, was the beneficiary of a generous donation from the Kaiser family from New York. This play corner allows the children to pre-occupy themselves, have a speedy diagnosis and treatment, and be able to return to the Frenkel Emergency Medical Center without fear.
Inauguration Ceremony
Attending the inauguration of the play corner were two of Professor Kaiser’s granddaughters, Atara and Avigail, along with family and friends from both Israel and the United States. Atara and Avigail unveiled the memorial plaque and expressed their satisfaction with the memorial and its purpose.
Atara spoke about her grandmother, Breina.
❝My grandmother was a special woman. I remember her from the age of four. We used to go to her for holidays and vacations. The visits allowed us to be together with the extended family. Even though she is no longer with us, our memories of her will remain.”
Moshe Cohen, Director General of Yad Sarah, thanked the family for this wonderful contribution and emphasized the importance he sees in the play area.
❝Today, it’s clear that mental health is as important as medicine for the body, and maybe even more so, when a baby or child comes for treatment. They are already in a state of tension and pain, and sometimes the doctor will sit with them on the floor. The physicians at the medical center are doctors who think “out of the box” and who, beyond their professional medical knowledge, understand the importance of the patient’s feelings, so if the child has to return for treatment in the future, he will not be afraid.❞
