Location Nahariya, Israel Emergency department Yes Lists Hospitals in Israel Phone +972 4-910-7107 Founded 1956 | Hospital type General hospital Address כביש 89, Nahariya, Israel Number of beds 627 | |
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Similar Hillel Yaffe Medical Center, Rambam Health Care Ca, Barzilai Medical Center, Kaplan Medical Center, Soroka Medical Center | ||
The Medical Center Of The Galilee (LaGalilee Medical Center) (Hebrew: המרכז הרפואי לגליל) is a hospital located in the coastal city of Nahariya and is the second largest hospital in northern Israel (after Rambam Hospital in Haifa). It was established in 1956.
The hospital located on the outskirts of Nahariya, three kilometers from the city center, serving half a million residents of the western Galilee, from Karmiel to the coast.
History
Since its modest beginning as a small maternity hospital, The WGH has grown into a 651-bed facility. The emergency room receives about 400 people every day and the number of hospitalizations is about 60,000 a year. Approximately 420 physicians practice in this government owned hospital, while the total number of employees is about 2200. The hospital staff is a reflection of the multi-ethnic demography of the Western Galilee, consisting of Jews, Muslims, Christians, Druze and others. In 2007, the Western Galilee Hospital was the first to appoint an Arab Israeli, Dr. Masad Barhoum, as its director.
Before 2000, approximately one-third of the patients in the ophthalmology department were Lebanese citizens who crossed the border through the Good Fence and received treatment free of charge.
In summer of 2006, during the 2006 Lebanon War, the hospital handled the largest number of casualties in Israel. During the month-long war, some 1,800 civilians and 300 airlifted IDF soldiers were treated there. During this time, the hospital took a direct hit that destroyed an outer wall and eight rooms. Since then, the hospital has built an underground emergency room, partly funded by overseas donors.