Rabin Medical Center, Israel's largest medical facility, was founded with that same pioneering spirit that made Israel a great country. Beilinson Hospital was established in 1936 by Kupat Holim, the General Sick Fund, to serve the pioneers who settled in the central region of the country. Hasharon Hospital was first founded in 1942 by a team of surgeons from Beilinson Hospital, who set up a satell
ite surgical unit to meet the rising demands of medical care from the burgeoning population. It was named in 1996 for Yitzhak Rabin who dreamt of a country that would live in peace. That legacy is reflected in Rabin Medical Center's commitment to healing the sick and offering hope to the infirm and the injured. While Yitzhak Rabin fought in the Palmach, the commando unit of the Jewish underground army, an Israeli community in Petah Tikvah that dates back to 1878 broke ground for its first hospital. Just as the Palmach was a cornerstone of Israel's defense, the original hospital, now named Rabin Medical Center, was and remains a cornerstone of medical care in Israel. Rabin Medical Center grew considerably, but never lost its pioneering spirit. Immigrants to Israel keep arriving. About one million new immigrants arrived in Israel in the 1990s from Russia and Ethiopia. Many were in need of medical care, not having received adequate medical attention in their countries of origin. For many, Rabin Medical Center was their first stop after coming to Israel. To keep pace with Israel's growing medical needs and to serve the patients it treats annually, Rabin Medical Center continually expands the medical frontiers of research, treatment, and care so as to be prepared for any eventuality.
