Page 171 - ירושלים: גיליון רפואי

A Child’s Heart

Message of Pediatric Medicine Emanates from Jerusalem

Jerusalem was one of the first cities worldwide to establish medical services and treatment
exclusively for children. In 1872, Dr Max Sandreczky, a pediatric surgeon and obstetrician,
founded the children’s hospital “Marienstift,” which became one of the pioneering
pediatric hospitals in the world. He believed in providing medical care regardless of
one’s religious or political interests, and the hospital faithfully treated children of all
religions and nationalities. Other hospitals in Jerusalem followed his example and opened
special departments for children, making every effort to ease their stay with pleasant
accommodations and playrooms.
In 1925, Bertha Spafford Vester, a resident of Jerusalem’s American Colony, founded a
“Baby Home” in the Old City, today’s Spafford Children’s Center. The chief physician until
1948 was Dr Helena Kagan. The parents of hospitalized children received instruction
in hygiene as well as training in crafts as a means of improving their living standards.
Towards the end of the 20th century, the “Shevet Achim” Association began operating
in a house on HaNevi’im Street, on the site of the original Marienstift hospital. The
association brings children who need cardiac surgery to Israel from Arab countries and
from other disadvantaged places in the world. The children and their parents are housed
in the historic building before surgery and during recovery.

169 ■ ‫לב של ילד‬