Twenty-eight years after it was first opened at Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center, the new facility of the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson Clinic for drug abuse treatment and research was unveiled on Thursday.
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Dr. Miriam Adelson and her late husband, philanthropist Sheldon Adelson, founded the treatment center, which has helped thousands of drug addicts since it was founded.
Thursday's unveiling of the new clinic was attended by Director of Sourasky Medical Center Professor Ronni Gamzu, chairman of the Association of Friends of Sourasky Medical Center Jonathan Kolber, and association director Vered Roth.
Video: Moshe Ben Simhon
Former Chief Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau affixed a mezuzah to the door of the new center, which can now offer treatment for more addicts and more addictive substances.
"May this home be an opening of hope of welfare and rescue for the many people who will enter it, thanks to Miri and Sheldon, may he rest," Lau said.
Gamzu said that "The Adelson clinic is one of the most important in Israel, and it treats the drug-addicted population with clinical excellence and great humanity."
"The clinic staff has rehabilitated thousands of addicts, treated them, and brought them back to functioning and to society. Thanks to the new building, we will be able to expand our activity on behalf of this weaker population, all in a public clinic," Gamzu added.
"We thank the Adelson family for its enormous donation. I feel as if we've built a tower," the professor added.
Adelson spoke at the opening of the new clinic, saying that "The person who most deserves to be here, and is no longer with us, is my late husband, Sheldon. He was my partner. Although he himself was not a scientist, he intuitively understood the importance of our treatment approach. He gave his time and his expertise, without limits.
"As our sages said, anyone who saves a soul saves an entire universe. That is how I feel – that for every patient I save, I save at least 20 people. His wife, his child, his neighbor, the insurance companies, the economy, and more," Adelson said.
Clinic director Oren Avitan said, "I am committed to us being better, more humane, more professional, and more merciful."
The clinic at Sourasky Medical Center was inaugurated the same week that a new building housing the Dr. Miriam and Sheldon G. Adelson School of Medicine was dedicated at Ariel University in Samaria.
The modern building, which includes study areas and research labs, is also set to include a regional medical center with four operating rooms, a gastrointestinal imaging institute, and university clinics for paramedical professions, among others.
Dr. Adelson is physician who practices internal medicine and emergency medicine. She has researched narcotics addiction and become an expert in the treatment of it, and founded two research centers devoted to containing narcotics abuse – one in Tel Aviv and another in Las Vegas.
Sheldon Adelson, who passed away in January this year, co-owned Israel Hayom with Miriam Adelson. Aside from his philanthropic activity, in which he donated millions to organizations and institutions, Adelson also funded a Boston-based research foundation focused on live-threatening illnesses.
The Adelson family owns the company that is the primary shareholder in Israel Hayom. Dr. Miriam Adelson is the publisher of Israel Hayom.
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