Arthur I Eidelman, MD

Why are we honoring him today?

Michael Kaplan

Department of Neonatology

Shaare Zedek Medical Center,

Jerusalem.

Arthur Eidelman: Life Review

• Early period: New York

• Aliyah

• Contribution to neonatology – Shaare Zedek Medical Center

• Contribution to neonatology – national

• Contribution to pediatrics – national front

• Personal reflections

Early Period: New York

• Born and grew up in New York

• BA Yeshiva College, Yeshiva University• MD Albert Einstein College of Medicine • Yeshiva University, New York

• Pediatrics and Chief Residency, Yale-New Haven Hospital

• Neonatology Fellowship Yale University School of Medicine (Dr Louis Gluck)

• Boards in Pediatrics and Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine

Hebrew Institute of Boro ParkBrooklyn New York 1951

Then…

Arleen

Pilzer

and

Arthur

Eidelman

1960

…and now..Eidelman Family 2009

Employment Prior to Aliyah

• Bronx Municipal Hospital Center

• New Rochelle Hospital, New York

• The Hospital of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York

Neonatology

Fellow

Yale

University

1965-7

•

1978 – Oleh Chadash!!

Contribution to Neonatology: Shaare Zedek Medical Center

• Did not let trials and tribulations of Aliya hinder him.

•

• Immediately started work at Shaare Zedek.

• Set up neonatal intensive care unit

• One of the first units in Israel

• Trained nurses and doctors

• Obtained State-of-the-Art neonatal equipment

Shaare Zedek Hospital

Progress over 30 years

1978 2008

3000 deliveries 12,000 deliveries

10 beds 30 official beds,

in practice 40-45

2 neonatologists 5 neonatologists

1 resident 2 residents (!)

Night call shared 2 doctors dedicated to

with pediatrics neonatology

Within Shaare Zedek

• Rapidly promoted to Medical Director

• Allowed him to learn administrative aspects of Israeli medicine and Misrad Habriut at close hand

• Stood him in good stead for subsequent development of neonatology and pediatrics in Israel.

Contribution to Neonatology in Israel

• Worked to establish Neonatology as an independent sub-speciality

• “Grandfather” committee Prof Reisner, Dr Brish, Dr Zelzer, Prof Eidelman

• 1988 Neonatology recognized as sub-speciality

• Specialization examination

• Approval of neonatal units for training purposes

• Separation of neonatal units from pediatrics

• Many units became independent departments

Recognition of a baby as an individual patient

• Babies were not individuals in Israeli health services– Same name as mother, – same medical chart as mother, – same discharge letter as mother

• Worked to establish baby as an individual– Own ID number– Own medical chart– Own discharge letter

Payment for Premature Babies

• Originally was no payment for premature babies

• Prematures not recognized as a sick individual

• Payment to hospital was identical for healthy term newborn and sick premature

• Worked to obtain at least partial remuneration for prematures

Payment chronicle not yet complete

• 2009

• One time payment of 120,000 shekels

• Each premature < 1750 gm birth weight

However:

• No difference between 1.6 kg healthy baby and 500 gm desperately ill baby

• No payment for babies > 1750 gm, or for sick term infants.

What does all this have to do with Pediatrics?

Contribution to Pediatrics

• Played a major part in establishing neonatology and neonatal units as separate and independent units

• Neonatologists are no longer pediatricians with an interest in newborns, but

• Physicians primarily interested in the care and well-being of the newborn

• New status adds expertise and knowledge both to patient care and resident training

New Horizons to Pediatric Training

• Pediatric resident rotating through neonatology experiences patient care primarily directed at

neonate

• Encounters specially trained doctors

• Experts in neonatal care

• Resident realizes that newborn medicine is a unique and independent sub-speciality

• Modern neonatology adds expertise, experience and knowledge to our pediatric training programs

Some International Collaborations

• Helped put Israeli neonatology on the international map

• Liason with Section on Perinatal Pediatrics of the AAP

• Editorial board of Journal of Perinatology (official mouthpiece of the Section)

• Co-editor of 2 editions of Clinics in Perinatology. Major contribution of Israeli authors

• American Academy of Breast Feeding

Arthur Eidelman the Man

• Excellent clinician• Superb teacher• Wide body of medical and general

knowledge• Continuous updating of knowledge• Combined clinical and administrative

duties• Performed and encouraged clinical

research

2 Major Problems at Shaare Zedek

Unique population of Shaare Zedek

• Don’t fight with them, try to understand them

• Don’t impose your values on them, rather cooperate with them

• Try to think like they do

• Overall result of this strategy: Better patient care.

Looking into the future

• Amazing insight of what was going to transpire in the future

• Understanding of the way the world was going

Primary Driving Force

אם יקום והתהלך בחוץ על משענתו ונקה המכה רק •ורפא ירפאשבתו יתן

שמות כ"א י"ט

: רפא ירפא•

ניתנה רשות לרופא לרפאות-תלמוד בבלי מסכת ברכות

נתנה התורה רשות לרופא לרפאות ומצווה היא - ובכלל פיקוח נפש הוא ואם מונע עצמו הרי זה שופך

דמים.שולחן ערוך