The Social Fabric

Gov't allocates NIS 100 million for reinforcement of hospitals

Yisrael Beytenu managed to secure NIS 100 million from the government's coalition budget towards reinforcement for four peripheral hospitals. The plan was announced Sunday at a press conference in Ashkelon.

The allocation will be divided equally among the four hospitals in Ashkelon, Nahariya, Safed, and Tiberias, each receiving NIS 25 million. These funds will be combined with the NIS 500 million that the government allocated last year for protecting the hospitals.

At Sunday's press conference, hospital heads expressed their satisfaction with Yisrael Beytenu head, Minister for Strategic Affairs Avigdor Lieberman, for his success in securing the funds.

They maintained that the money will be used already in coming days for urgent reinforcement work in the northern and southern hospitals.

In past months, hospital officials complained about the inadequate budget that the state allocated for the hospitals' reinforcement. Dr. Masad Barhoum, director of the Western Galilee Hospital-Nahariya, said, "with this move from Minister Lieberman, we crossed from talk to action, and brought aid to Nahariya's elderly. Now we can invest the money so the elderly won't lie in the hallways, but rather in a reinforced room." 

Originally published in Haaretz.