The Ezra Le’Marpeh Medical Rehabilitation Centre provides free, first-class mental and physical rehabilitative care for people of all ages throughout Southern Israel.

JNF UK has worked with Ezra Le’Marpeh to construct a state-of-the-art rehabilitation centre in Sderot, a city on the Israel-Gaza border, in the south of Israel.

People who have suffered serious illness or injury often need dedicated rehabilitation to maximise their physical ability and wellbeing. This new rehabilitation facility serves the entire Negev region benefitting approximately 500,000 people by providing life-changing care that otherwise would not be available to them.

The new centre aims to address the severe shortage of health and rehabilitation services in the region. Rehabilitative services offered through local public health services provide only initial assistance for up to three months after an incident, while many patients require intensive care for a period of at least six months.

The physical and psychological therapies on offer are all provided for free and under one roof. These include hydrotherapy, occupational therapy and counselling services. The centre also offers specialised treatment to the thousands of Negev residents who suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder as a result of living with the constant threat of terrorism. Because of its proximity to the Gaza Strip, the facility is housed in a special rocket-safe building. The Centre also provides care for patients with cancer, Parkinson’s and Functional Autism Syndrome.

Construction of the Sderot Medical Rehabilitation Centre was completed in October 2017 and it is already providing vital medical rehabilitation services to residents across southern Israel.

In recognition of JNF UK’s essential support, the Moss Jay Physiotherapy Suite was named after a JNF UK testator donor who made its creation possible.

Features of the Centre

• The Medical Rehabilitation Centre offers state-of-the-art rehabilitation therapy and equipment staffed by a highly skilled paramedical team of therapists including physiotherapists, occupational and communication therapists and social workers. The Centre homes a controlled multisensory environment, physical training and health instructors, a dietician, nurses, doctors, alternative therapists and other services according to need.
• The Centre also offers Life Skills Development Workshops, promoting and improving Activities of Daily Living (ADL). These are skills that allow a person to be independent in daily functioning such as showering, dressing and preparing food alone.
• The hydrotherapy pool complements regular physiotherapy treatments to improve co-ordination, sensation and facilitate physical functioning.
• The Trauma Therapy Unit is for people with chronic trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder. It helps people to express their anxieties in non-verbal ways
  including art, gardening and cooking therapy which alleviate suffering and aid effective communication.
• Medical Counselling and Referral Service – The Centre has its own staff of medical consultants and co-operates with Soroka and Barzilai Hospitals in the south of the country and Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv. In this way Ezra Le’Marpeh hopes to ensure advanced medical care of the highest possible international standard for local residents of Sderot and the surrounding areas.
• A free ambulance service offers fully equipped ambulances, staffed by trained drivers to drive patients to and from the Centre for treatments.

About Ezra Le’Marpeh

For over 38 years, the Ezra Le’Marpeh organisation, founded by Rabbi Avraham Elimelech Firer, has alleviated the suffering of sick people through a wide range of targeted activities and services, allowing their speedy recovery and ultimate return to a healthy, normal life. Some 150,000 people benefit from Ezra Le’Marpeh’s services annually. Today Ezra Le’Marpeh is one of the most highly regarded integrated medical services in the world.

In addition to an internationally renowned diagnostic service, Ezra Le’Marpeh operates:

• a fleet of ambulances transferring patients to and from appointments
• a home-care network for children with cancer
• a video conferencing service that allows specialists to conduct medical consultations with patients worldwide
• a medical equipment lending service, for home use
• a rehabilitation centre
• a Parkinson’s programme
• a hydrotherapy pool
• dentistry treatments

In 1997 Rav Firer was awarded the Israel Prize in recognition of his tireless work on behalf of the sick and needy. In addition, the Rabbi has been awarded various distinguished awards as well as several honorary PhDs.