Student volunteers at Sheba Medical Center (Sheba Medical Center)

“The level of collaboration among faculty, physicians, health professionals and medical and graduate students is unprecedented in Israel,” said TAU Prof. Karen Avraham.

Israel’s hospitals, universities, medical clinics, the Ministry of Health and student volunteers have joined forces to help combat coronavirus.

In an effort to assist Israel’s overburdened hospitals and health workers, over 1,000 medical student volunteers from around Israel are helping Magen David Adom (MDA), Israel’s emergency medical services organization, to collect test samples from people suspected of having coronavirus.

Researchers and doctors at Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Hadassah Medical Center and Shamir Medical Center, together with the co-chairs of the Medical Students Association, launched the initiative as a way to expand and improve detection of the illness.

An additional 600 doctoral students are volunteering at overburdened hospital labs to process the tests.

“The level of collaboration among faculty, physicians, health professionals and medical and graduate students at the universities, hospitals, HMOs, MDA, and Ministry of Health, is unprecedented in Israel,” said Prof. Karen Avraham, Vice Dean of TAU’s Sackler Faculty of Medicine said. “This will set the stage for years to come for how much we can accomplish when working together so selflessly.”