Prof. Zeev Rotstein, the head of Hadassah Medical Center, had a minor stroke over the weekend, according to his spokesperson.He was urgently hospitalized on Friday at Sheba Medical Center, Tel Hashomer.Rotstein has been under tremendous stress, the hospital noted, as Hadassah has been struggling to pay its expenses in the aftermath of the coronavirus crisis. On Thursday, Rotstein told The Jerusalem Post that the hospital is facing a financial crisis and will not be able to continue operating if it does not receive reimbursement for its work during the coronavirus crisis.The hospital lost NIS 1.2 billion from lack of activity and spent more than NIS 350,000 on direct coronavirus costs, he said. During the crisis, he put 250 employees on furlough because there were few patients to treat.“We were promised by the Finance and Health ministries that we would be fully reimbursed for the extra cost for the corona treatment and the loss of patients that did not come,” Rotstein said Thursday, adding that he had "warned the ministries that we will be shut down if we do not urgently receive relief.”
Recall that Hadassah was in terrible debt before Rotstein took over in 2016. Since then, Rotstein said the hospital was on the path to pay back its deep debt by 2025. Nonetheless, because of its challenging economic past, the hospital cannot borrow money from the bank to help it get through.
The Health Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Rotstein is expected to return to work in the coming days.
