Isaac Herzog inaugurates Meuhedet Raam Medical Center

jpost.com · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from GDELT

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Jerusalem Post/Health & WellnessPresident Herzog inaugurates Meuhedet’s Ra’am Medical Center in RehovotCalling it “a significant development for the future of public medicine in Israel,” Herzog says, as Meuhedet unveils its largest and most advanced facility.Cutting the ribbon at the new Ra'am Center.(photo credit: MEUHEDET)ByJERUSALEM POST STAFFFEBRUARY 23, 2026 17:08President Isaac Herzog on Monday inaugurated a major new community medical center in Rehovot, describing it as a significant boost to Israel’s public healthcare system and to community resilience. The new Ra’am Medical Center, opened by Kupat Holim Meuhedet, is the largest and most advanced facility of its kind operated by the health fund.Established at an investment of more than NIS 70 million, the 8,000-square-meter complex is designed to bring specialist medicine into the heart of the community while reducing pressure on hospital emergency rooms. “When we speak about community resilience, it is clear that the strength of a community rests on a robust community healthcare system that knows how to support residents in complex times,” Herzog said during a tour of the new facility.“The moving ceremony we are holding here today reflects that concept precisely. The Ra’am Center, officially launching today, is not just another community medical institution but a significant development for anyone who cares deeply about the future of public medicine in Israel.“I thank you for the dedicated and professional work you carry out throughout the year for the health and daily lives of Israel’s citizens, and I wish you great success going forward,” he added. Ra’am offers a broad range of services under one roof, including, according to Meuhedet, the first MRI machine to operate in a health fund setting, running 24 hours a day.The center also houses a preventive medicine unit and an urgent care center staffed by specialist physicians, providing treatment in the evenings and on weekends when regular clinics are closed. In many cases, officials say, the urgent care facility is expected to spare patients the need to visit hospital emergency departments.The complex includes 25 medical institutes and specialty services, among them cardiology, diabetes care, women’s health, child development, ophthalmology, rehabilitation, advanced imaging with CT, mammography, X-ray, and ultrasound, as well as a dedicated Meuhedet Junior center.Eyal Gabay, chairman of Meuhedet, said strengthening community-based medicine is critical both for improving care and for narrowing long-standing gaps between Israel’s center and periphery. “Building strong community healthcare infrastructure enables patients to receive high-quality and precise medical care within the health fund, to close the treatment circle in one place, and at the same time enables hospitals to provide better-quality medicine,” Gabay said. “The Ra’am Medical Center joins the Peres Negev Hospital currently under construction, which will correct years of distortion in the level of healthcare services available to residents of the South.”The new hospital, officially named the Peres Negev Hospital, is under construction in Beersheba and is intended to bolster medical services in the Negev region. Meuhedet CEO Uzi Bitan described Ra’am as a model for the future of community medicine.“Ra’am fulfills our vision for innovative, community-based healthcare through a unique model of specialist medicine and a comprehensive medical center concept,” he said. “This is just the first step toward establishing a nationwide network of Ra’am centers.”According to Bitan, extensive thought went into every aspect of the project, from selecting advanced technologies to designing patient-friendly service processes and recruiting specialist physicians and professional teams. “From the moment a patient walks through the gates of the medical center, our teams accompany them,” he said, calling the staff “the beating heart of Ra’am.”