Sheba Medical Center, Israel’s largest medical centre, has launched a maternal telemedicine training and health delivery program for female Palestinian healthcare professionals in collaboration with Project Rozana, a not-for-profit organization aiming to build better understanding between Israelis and Palestinians through healthcare.
OB-GYN Beyond, Sheba’s virtual OBGYN department, has pioneered maternal-fetal telemedicine, creating a breakthrough in remote fetal assessment by providing remote care for pregnant women in Israel. The collaboration between OB-GYN Beyond (part of the Sheba Beyond virtual hospital platform) and Project Rozana aims to establish a remote OB-GYN unit in the rural Hebron area that will be fully operated by Palestinian healthcare teams.
“Our goal at OB-GYN Beyond is to provide women with the medical care they need, wherever they are located,” said Dr. Avi Tsur, director of the Women’s Health Innovation Center at Sheba Medical Center and director of OB-GYN Beyond. “Telemedicine allows us to bridge geographical, political and cultural gaps in the shared vision of optimal health outcomes. We are excited to work with Project Rozana in achieving this goal.”
Project Rozana in Israel provides improved healthcare access to Palestinians and engages in professional development and capacity building to contribute to an independent and resilient Palestinian healthcare system.
“Enabling Palestinians to provide healthcare in their remote communities lays the groundwork for an empowered people,” said Ronit Zimmer, executive director of Project Rozana. “The training at Sheba will enable local healthcare workers to operate virtual clinics in remote areas, eliminating many logistical, bureaucratic, and security obstacles for rural residents seeking quality healthcare.”
The Palestinian team engaged in hands-on training with some of the cutting-edge maternal telemedicine technologies used by OB-GYN Beyond such as HeraBEAT by HeraMED for remote fetal monitoring, Datos Health for ongoing monitoring and patient communication, GE Healthcare’s Vscan Air™ for remote fetal ultrasound and Healthy.io for digital urinalysis. Upon conclusion of the training, the participants—gynecologists, midwives, nurses, a pediatrician, a nutritionist, a physical therapist and a psychologist—will receive ongoing clinical support on a bi-monthly basis from Sheba.
