More than 60,000 soldiers and civilians have been wounded since Oct. 7 and in the subsequent Operation Swords of Iron – an unprecedented and enormous challenge for the Israeli healthcare system.Thousands are receiving physical and psychological rehabilitation treatment, both inpatient and outpatient. Rehabilitation medicine, which enables patients to regain maximum functionality and return to their lives and communities, has been the central medical story in Israel since Oct. 7.
“Prior to the war, rehabilitation medicine was not discussed much and received few resources. Today, people recognize the importance of rehabilitation medicine, and it has moved to the forefront,” says Dr. Orit Stein Reisner, director-general of the Reuth Tel Aviv Rehabilitation Hospital, one of Israel’s largest rehab hospitals.
Located in central Tel Aviv, Reuth TLV treats one-third of Israel’s outpatient rehabilitation patients and has 356 inpatient beds, encompassing general, geriatric, and respiratory rehabilitation. With over 60 years of experience, the hospital also has an Eating Disorder Institute, a Pain Institute, and a Sexual Health Center, and is building a trauma unit.
Reuth TLV (reuth means “friendship”) is one of Israel’s best-kept medical secrets, consistently rated top in its sector by the Health Ministry. Reuth is not a household hospital name because it doesn’t have an ER or traditional wards like maternity and surgery, but it is highly respected by medical professionals and patients.One of its patients was Ayal Young, the most seriously wounded member of Kibbutz Alumim’s civilian security squad. While fighting terrorists who infiltrated the kibbutz on Oct. 7, Young was shot in the upper body and was hospitalized at Reuth TLV for a month and a half.
Upon his discharge, he thanked the hospital staff: “I want to express my enormous appreciation to everyone who participated in my rehabilitation process. I arrived at Reuth in great pain and with very limited movement, and today I am returning to my regular work. I was blessed to be supported by a very professional team here.”
Dr. Reisner says, “In addition to receiving patients who were directly impacted by the war’s violence, Reuth has seen a spike in eating disorders and chronic illnesses, triggered by the intense stress Israelis have been experiencing over the past nine months.” This increase, along with the large number of “routine” rehabilitation patients unrelated to the war – people who have had car accidents, strokes, falls, and hip or knee replacements – has led to waiting lists and a shortage of space at Reuth TLV.
THE HOSPITAL, currently located in a well-worn campus near the Yad Eliyahu Arena, is set to move to a new state-of-the-art location in 2030. The new hospital – a partnership with the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality and the Tel Aviv Foundation – will be on the site of the former Sde Dov Airport in North Tel Aviv. It is part of the municipality’s sweeping urban plan for the site, which will include offices, shops, apartments, hotels, and a marina.The new facility will be the largest rehabilitation hospital in Israel – initially with 450 beds, rising to 600 – ready to meet the increasing need for rehabilitation in the decades ahead.
Its estimated cost of $250 million will be met by Reuth from proceeds from the sale of its current land holdings, the Tel Aviv-Jaffa Municipality, the government, and philanthropists. Construction is slated to begin at the end of 2025.“The events of Oct. 7 caught the health system lacking in both infrastructure and manpower,” says Reisner. “There is a tremendous shortage in Israel of rehabilitation doctors, nurses, physical and occupational therapists, rehabilitation psychologists, speech therapists, social workers, and dietitians. Bringing more professionals into the field of rehabilitation medicine is a critical mission of national importance for the State of Israel.”
So far, she says, she has been able to hold on to her excellent staff. “At Reuth TLV, we have a special approach. Each patient has a team of doctors, nurses, and therapists, and we fight for every patient. We never give up on them. We challenge and empower them every day to reach their maximum potential. We work with the patient and with their family, as the family is key to the patient’s recovery.”
REUTH TLV has treated scores of patients – both soldiers and civilians – during the war. Reisner explains that the advanced capabilities of the IDF’s medical corps stabilized wounded soldiers and saved the lives of many who would otherwise not have survived their wounds.
While most of the patients wounded in the war who went to Reuth TLV have been discharged, two civilians wounded on Oct. 7 remain hospitalized, and soldiers continue to go to the hospital multiple times per week for outpatient treatments.
Where will Reuth be in five years? “By then, we hope to be packing our boxes for the new building,” the hospital’s director-general quips. Considering the question more seriously, she notes that Israel’s population is growing and living longer, and it is expected that there will be two million people aged 65 and over by 2040.As one of Israel’s leading geriatric rehab centers, Reuth TLV will have a central role to play in improving the functioning of older patients, maintaining their emotional well-being, and preserving their independence as much as possible.
“If I look ahead to the new facility,” says Reisner, “I think that Reuth TLV will continue to provide the same excellent care it has provided for all these years, but it will be better suited for the challenges of the 21st century.”
This article was written in cooperation with Reuth TLV Rehabilitation Hospital.
